Afghans are hungry tigers, can't take them lightly: Anshuman Gaekwad

Former India opening batsman and coach, Anshuman Gaekwad, recipient of Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) Lifetime Achievement Award at its annual awards ceremony in Bengaluru on Tuesday, tells G Krishnan about the guts with which he faced the West Indies pace battery of the 1970s and also that England will not take India lightly in the upcoming tour. Excerpts:

Being conferred the Lifetime Achievement award by the BCCI, how satisfying is it to look back upon your career?

To be very frank, it was not easy at all. It was tough right through. I had to work for it and take the positives out of them. Looking from a cricketing point of view, or coaching point of view, they were really tough. I am married now for 42 years, god knows 18-20 years of that period, I must have been out of the house. When I finished 25 years of wedding, I was asked the secret of my successful marriage. I said I was never at home, I just used to come home to do laundry and go back (laughs).

Which one was very satisfying, opening for India or coaching or as an administrator?

Most satisfying stint was being coach of the Indian team. That was a bigger challenge. Playing for India and doing well was difficult. We did not have protective equipment, we are not used to the quality of fast bowlers at that time, and the teams had not one but three-four in them. But, that was the challenge you had to tackle individually. Coaching the Indian team was really challenging and very satisfying. The kind of results I got from the team with so many established players, some of whom had played a lot more that I had. It makes it that much tougher. You cannot demand respect at that level, you have to command it. To command it, you had to win over their confidence.

What part of it is was challenging as a coach?

At that level, coach's role is majorly man-management. Why do we need a coach? He keeps an eye on the mistakes. To err is human. That is one area that he catches and sets right before it becomes chronic. Coach tries to convince players at that level. As coach of the junior team, you say, 'hey this is wrong, do this'. But not so at senior level. You have to convince them.

How much has the game changed from your playing days?

There is a sea of change as far as quality of cricket is concerned. The quality of bowlers you had, the batsmen you had, you could stick around and get a bloody double or triple hundred. You don't see that now. The quality of pitches you see now, the equipment, they give you that extra confidence. You play a forward defence and you get four. In our time, you barely nicked it. Now players can make bats of their own choice. These things have changed a lot for the better. The pads have become brilliant. The shoes have become lighter. I remember, my one shoe would be 1 kg heavy, so I was already 2 kgs heavier on the field! The pads were heavy and not so comfortable, running was not comfortable. We did not have choices.

You were known for concentration in the middle. You were nicknamed ‘The Great Wall’. Do you see that much concentration among batsmen now-a-days?

I firmly believe in one thing. The basics of cricket will never change. You can improvise. Talk about one-day or T20, it is all about improvising. If you don't, there are more chances of your faltering. Similarly, whether it is determination, concentration, they have to be there at any level. When I was in school, I was very scared of fast bowing. I was an off-spinner. My coach used to tie my leg to the net so that I don't go outside leg-stump. He used to tie my leg towards first slip. I got better and better. I played Ranji Trophy as a bowler in 1969. And, in 1974, in five years, I played for India as a batsman. So, there was a sea of change. I attribute that to concentration, determination, the will to stay and get runs. Then, of course, you talk about West Indies. I don't think I have missed a West Indies series till I retired, though I missed others. That is where concentration was at its most. Those quicks, we have never played in domestic cricket. Looking at Sunil (Gavaskar) at the other end, he used to make things look so simple. Andy Roberts, Michael holding, Clive Rice, John Snow, Richard Hadlee, all those bowlers were all quick. They gave you extra confidence. Sometimes, it could be false confidence but I started to concentrate harder and harder. Meantime, I developed a technique for fast bowlers. I knew where my off-stump was. I started to open in 1977, they thought I had the technique to open. I never looked back. The concentration was required to stay at the wicket and take them on.

To be facing the West Indies pacers in the West Indies in 1975-76, did you fear for your life?

I got hit many times, I got hit in the match before the Trinidad Test much before the last one in Jamaica. I opened for the first time and I cracked my toe and still went on to get a hundred. Thereafter, we went to Jamaica after winning in Trinidad and squaring the series 1-1 with one to go. When we saw the Jamaica wicket, it was like walking on a marble strip. It was so hard that you could hear the shoe spikes sound. We knew it was going to be bouncy. We knew our bowlers could also be quick and dangerous. You need to mentally prepare, stay there, struggle. I got hit in the Test a couple of times before I finally got hit on my ear. I had already cracked my ribs, my finger that I said to myself, 'What else can happen, you get me out or kill me. I am not going to leave this place’. This was what was in my mind. The ball before Michael (Holding) hit me on my ear, I got hit on my right fingers. I did not realise until I took my stance and saw blood dripping from my hands on to the pads. I walked off, took my time. I was worried to remove the gloves. I knew there was a lot of swelling. If I removed the gloves, I may not have been able to put them back. I was mad. I already talked to myself as to what else can happen. I looked at the bowlers' end, Mike was waiting there, shining the ball. God forbid, I showed him a finger, which according to Sunil (Gavaskar), one should never show to a fast bowler. I got the treatment, the ball was on my ear and I had to retire at 81. Luckily I had a doctor friend who he fixed it up. I got a lot more determined, I had the guts. We are used to these kind of injuries. I, coming from the Maratha background, was tough nut to crack.

Which innings of yours did you enjoy the most?

I had different knocks. The West Indies was totally guts and determination. The Jamaica Test 81 (retired). I ask myself even now ‘how did I do it’. The 80 in Chennai against the West Indies in 1974-75 when I was run out on 80 (2nd innings) – the Test more famous for Gundappa Viswanath’s 97* in the first innings – was one knock that I played with a lot of guts. That was the first match I hooked Keith Boyce. I never hooked before. It was a top-edged four. That was a lot more aggressive. You stayed there and you got the runs and frustrate the fast bowlers. The third best was 201 against Pakistan in Jalandhar. It was sheer patience, it was crazy. I went on and on, (captain) Kapil Dev said to just go on batting, there was nothing in the match. Roger (Binny) and I had a partnership. I was just playing and playing, didn't look back. It was patience all the way. I like the West Indies knocks the most because it was hard work. And the evenings were brilliant with steel bands, they were so relaxing.

How do you look at the current Indian team with everything centred on captain Virat Kohli?

It is unfortunate, very unfortunate. Virat is a great batsman, no challenge in that. But, cricket is never a one-man game. It is a team game. Putting everything on Kohli is not nice. Why should you put pressure on him all the time?

What are your predictions of India in England in the coming weeks?

Application in England is never easy. The conditions are different, and luckily they are not going in the first half of summer. They are going in July-August-September, a better half, much cleaner weather-wise. It is not going to be that difficult. Earlier, England, New Zealand, Australia, West Indies knew India didn’t have fast bowling attack. Now they know that India have a good battery of fast bowlers. They will not take chance of preparing wickets to their advantage totally. That could backfire on them. It will be true wickets. Bowling isn’t a worry. Batting is the only thing I see that needs a little adjustment in footwork. Where the ball seams, you need to use your crease like (Ajinkya) Rahane does. He has got a better record overseas. Virat Kohli to uses his feet. By using his front foot for fast bowlers, he cuts down on the swing. As a result, the bowlers have to change the length and line. That is when you have a chance of getting runs. If you play like the way you do in sub-continent, that will not work in England.

Will playing ODIs and T20Is in England before the Tests help?

They will get used to the wickets. At the same time, at the back of their minds, they will get runs, they will get used to that quickly. I would have still preferred them to play four-day games against English counties.

Where do you see Afghanistan challenging India in the one-off Test?

You can't take them easy. They are hungry tigers. They are trying to prove themselves at international cricket. They will put what they have. They are unpredictable. Bowling is deceptive, it’s not going to be that easy to go and have a blast. When I was coach of Indian team, during the second stint, Bangladesh were playing their first ever Test. We had a full side. They scored 400 and we were, at one stage, struggling to save the Test. We had a closed-door meeting and I said ‘don't take it easy and go and put them in their place’. They are new to the scenario and one tends to relax.

KNOW ANSHUMAN GAEKWAD

Full name: Anshuman Dattajirao Gaekwad

Born: September 23, 1952

Teams: India, Baroda

Batting style: Right-hand

Stats

40 Tests, 70 innings, 4 Not outs, 1,985 runs, 201 highest, 30.07 average, 2x100s, 10x50s, 15 catches

15 ODIs, 14 innings, 1 not out, 269 runs, 78* highest, 20.69 average, 1x50, 6 catches

**India coach from October 1997 to September 1999 and from August 2000 to October 2000