Legend Vishy treasures Hyderabad connection

Hyderabad: “My idol M.L. Jaisimha is from this city. Other talented, world class cricketers like M.A.K. Pataudi, Mohammed Azharuddin and V.V.S. Laxman also hail from this city, and they all worked hard to reach there,” said Indian cricket legend Gundappa Vishwanath while opening a cricket academy at Meridian School here on Monday. With those words, Vishy, as he is fondly known, deftly reminded the youngsters present on the occasion of the richness of Hyderabad cricketing history.

Vishy also spoke of the importance of the role of a coach in honing a young cricketers’ talent. “Coaches should train kids in the basics and only then can youngsters excel in any format of cricket. Otherwise, they will remain 20-20 specialists.” While on the subject, Vishy reminisced about his Test debut — against the mighty West Indies at Kanpur in 1969.
The elegant batsmen confessed to having “butterflies” in his stomach at the prospect of facing the legendary Windies pacers. After getting out for a duck in the first innings, he was worried sick about doing well in the second. “I spent sleepless nights, worried about failing again, which could lead to end of my career,” he recalled.
“In the second innings, I went to one corner of the stadium and was keenly watching the batting partnership between Ashok Mankad and Ajit Wadekar when someone tapped me from behind. “It was captain Pataudi. He told me not to worry, to take it easy and said I will score a century,” Vishy said.
Adding that Pataudi’s encouragement eased the pressure on him, Vishy recalled he “went on to score a century in the second innings.” According to Vishy, the unbeaten 97 he scored against the West Indies in Chennai as his best knock ever, with the 139 — against the same opposition — in Kolkata a close second. “I would rate the 97 not out against West Indies at Chepauk as my best innings,” he said. “In Kolkata, I had Karsan Ghavri at the other end, and tremendous pressure on me to score runs. It was one of my best.”
Regarding the current Indian cricket team, Vishwanath said consistency is the order of the day.“They need to perform more consistently in all areas. Right now, if batting clicks, bowling fails or vice versa. And if both are going well, the fielding is poor.” He declined to comment on M.S. Dhoni, saying it was up to the selectors to decide on his captaincy.