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Cover Feature
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Is overkill killing cricket?
It is a game we swear by. but with a frenetic tournament or series unfolding every month, spectator interest is beginning to flag. the writing’s on the wall: excess doesn’t always spell success
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 Is it true that during your school selection you were nearly discarded because of your short stature?
That was during the state school team selection. I went for trials and the chairman of the selection committee, Dr Thimmappaiaha, a medical doctor, was worried about my safety. I was rejected. Later on, when I was captain for the state team, Thimmappaiaha was the chairman of the selection committee. I once asked him casually whether I had been rejected because of my lack of inches. He told me, "Yeah, that’s true. I was really worried that you would be hit.” I was very lean and short. I can imagine his fatherly feelings towards all of us.
You hit a double hundred on your Ranji Trophy debut...
I scored 230 actually. With that I broke a record – 210 – that had stood for nearly 40 years. I was 18 and that innings boosted my confidence no end.
Within a year, Kanpur happened and you become an integral part of the Indian team.
Yes. But in the first innings I got out for a duck to Australian bowler Allan Connolly. I thought that was the end of my international cricket career. I wasn’t sure I would get a second chance. Back then, the pace of Test cricket was much slower than it is today. You have to play 90 overs in a day now whereas in those days there was no such stipulation. Sometimes a team would bowl only 60-70 overs in a day. Luckily I got a chance to play a second innings. I got a hundred on debut.
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 The Vishy square cut was magical. Was that a natural gift?
No, it was not. I worked hard throughout my career to master the stroke. In the end you can always say that it was a natural gift. But whatever strokes I played and perfected, it was the result of hard work. Playing against Chandra and Prasanna in the nets helped me hone my skills. Not only me, but every batsman in our state team got that rare opportunity to play against two world class spinners in the nets. Chandra, Prasanna and the other bowlers in our team would take bowling in the nets very seriously, setting imaginary fields. The batsmen benefited a great deal as a result.
Many regard your unbeaten 97 on a pace-friendly pitch against the West Indies in the 1974-75 Madras Test as the best-ever knock of your career. Do you agree?
I wouldn’t say it was the best. But naturally even now people rate it as my best. I think everything just clicked that day. The team was 6 down for 60 and I had to play with the tailenders. Naturally I went for my strokes. They came off. But I always feel that the knock of 137 in my debut Test was the best. Then 139 against West Indies in Calcutta – this was just before the Madras Test – was the best innings of my life. We won that Test match.
Both you and Sunil Gavaskar scored a hundred in the historic win against the West Indies in Port of Spain in 1976? How satisfying was that?
Scoring over 400 runs in the fourth innings of a Test match is no joke, especially against West Indies in West Indies. Sunny scored 102 and I scored 112 and we won the Test by 6 wickets. That was very satisfying. Getting a hundred in that type of situation is satisfying and winning is even more satisfying. Contributing to a victorious effort is far more rewarding than achieving an individual milestone.
I think the 1981 Melbourne Test was also a memorable one?
Absolutely, I scored a century and Kapil got five wickets in the second innings and we won that match. That was one of the most memorable wins we had.
The Sunny-Dennis Lillee spat also happened in the same Test. Why did Sunny lose his temper?
As he has himself said earlier, it all happened in the heat of the moment. I don’t think he liked it. It just happened. He was not among runs in that series. When he was really batting well, he was adjudged LBW. Frustration got the better of him. In protest, he sought to stage a walkout with his opening partner Chetan Chauhan. Our team manager, Wing Commander Durrani, went down and pacified Sunny and the match continued. We eventually won that Test match and levelled the series.
In the Golden Jubilee Test match against England in Mumbai, you disputed an umpiring decision…
No, there was no dispute. At a crucial stage of the match, the umpire erroneously declared Bob Taylor out. I took his permission to recall Taylor. Before that we all discussed the decision among ourselves and decided to recall the batsman. We lost that Test match. But I don’t have any regrets. I always feel that the game is above everything else.
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