Vishy gave joy to millions: Sunil Gavaskar

The announcement that this year’s Col CK Nayudu Award for Lifetime Achievement is to go to GR Viswanath is a tremendous 60th birthday gift to India’s greatest batsman of the 70s and 80s. By giving ‘Vishy’ this recognition, the BCCI has enhanced the award itself.

Not for one moment is it being suggested that the other previous recipients were any less. Far from it, for they all served Indian cricket admirably. It is just that ‘Vishy’ was the kind of cricketer after the late ‘colonels’ heart. He played it tough but without any overt show about it and played it fair.

Look at the number of times he bailed India out of a hopeless situation and took them to victory. He did it without thumping his chest or jumping up and down on getting to the century mark but with just a quick look up at the skies and then raising his bat shyly to the applause that the crowd would most spontaneously give him.

In fact, no Indian player has warmed the cockles of the crowd’s hearts as Vishy did. Those at the ground or those watching it on TV or hearing about it on radio would feel a sense of joy on Vishy’s achievements that perhaps no Indian cricketer before or since has done.

The smiles in the dressing room were to be seen to be believed and in today’s parlance where so much is made about taking delight in each other’s performance in Vishy’s case it used to happen naturally and everybody including the number eleven would feel that he had himself got a century. India never lost a game in which Vishy scored a century.

He missed out on several more as he tried to execute a never before seen shot but that was Vishy. It was not the runs he got but the manner in which he got them that interested him. There was this Test at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata which adored and worshiped him and it was the last over before the interval.

Bruce Yardley, the off-spinner, was bowling and Vishy went on his front foot to a short ball and looking at mid off essayed square cut. He nicked the ball and was out caught behind. He returned to dressing room disappointed.

We were all waiting to hail his century. He came in, took off his cap and looking at the faces of the team simply said, “Hey I missed a century, why are you looking so sad?” that was Vishy.

Centuries didn’t matter to him else he would have got double the number he has, but it was batting in tough situations which called for all his expertise that excited him. Remember the 97 not out at Chennai where Andy Roberts bowling like a howling wind had to brake himself in his follow through just a few feet away from the batsman. Has there been a better innings played in Indian cricket?

Or the 124 against Sylvester Clarke and Co., on a Chennai pitch which was the quickest pitch I had ever played on? Or the 113 against Australia at Melbourne? Or the century and double century against England when Underwood said, “Master, when you have had enough, please look kindly at me.” One can go on and on, for stories about him are legion but space constraints don’t allow it. I will end with a simple “Happy 60th Vishy” and may God Almighty give you the same joy that you gave millions of Indians.