Gundappa Ranganath Viswanath enriched Test cricket with his dazzling strokeplay, particularly with his late-cut. His statistics may not favourably compare with that of another great of his era, Sunil Gavaskar, but Viswanath’s impact on the game far outweighed the numbers he eventually finished with. A tally of 6080 runs in 91 Tests at an average of just under 42 (including 14 hundreds) is no mean achievement but the joy he brought to the viewers was worth its weight in gold.
His ability to excel in difficult conditions when most struggled to cope with them made him special. Besides his batting, Viswanath was also a thorough gentleman who truly embodied the spirit of the game he played. Remember him recalling England Bob Taylor after he was wrongly given out in the Golden Jubilee match in 1979-80, one of the two Tests he captained? It cost India the match but to this day, GRV has no regrets. As India play their historic 500th Test at his place of debut, Kanpur, Viswanath looks back at his journey and the evolution of Test cricket. Excerpts:
India will be playing their 500th Test today, what are your feelings at the moment?It’s tremendous. It’s a great honour for Indian cricket and a great milestone. If you go back to early days -- from Col (CK) Nayudu captaining in the early 1930s to now playing 500th Test… It’s a great achievement. It’s not been an easy ride, there have been many ups and downs but overall it’s been memorable. And I feel honoured being a part of that journey.
The 500th Test will be played at Green Park, the venue of your debut Test. How special is the place for you?
Absolutely very special. It was the beginning of my journey, the call was a bit of a surprise for me because it came very early in my career, I was barely 21. Of course I started with a zero and it couldn’t have got worse than that. Then I got a 100 in the second innings. It was a memorable debut for me. I had the fortune of playing a long innings for the country and I also got to lead the country in two Test matches. So, I really enjoyed my career and playing for India has been an absolute honour and privilege.
You did play some ODIs but what did Test cricket mean to you?
In those days it was the No 1 format because it was the only format then, and we all enjoyed that. Later one-day internationals came into being. Now there is T20 as well. But Test cricket is Test cricket. It’s not only me but I think those who are playing T20s now also want to prove their worth in Tests. No doubt about that. This is the format that brings out the best in a player. Everyone is aware that Test cricket is the main format.
Is Test cricket facing existential crisis?
T20 is a relatively new format and it’s attracting big crowds at the moment. But we should be careful enough to sustain public interest in it. Everything that you overdo, be it any walk of life, it leads to doom. I agree that with the advent of T20, the Test cricket has a taken a little bit of beating, not much though. We are struggling to get big crowds on a consistent basis and which is true with ODIs as well these days. We have to make every effort possible and take every step to maintain the primacy of Test cricket. People are trying Day/Night Tests, I am not sure how successful it would be but we should spare no effort to help Test regain its popularity again.
Talking of D/N Tests, what’s your take on pink ball cricket?
I am not sure what to say because I am not in a position to make an informed opinion on that. Of course I watched a bit of Australia-New Zealand pink-ball Test. I didn’t see much of a difference watching it on TV but probably I could get a different perspective watching it live at the stadium. But if our efforts are towards getting the crowd into the stadium and if D/N Tests are helpful in this endeavour, we can try it. As a traditionalist, however, I am not too comfortable with too much tinkering of the format.
How has Test cricket evolved from your time?
It has changed a lot; the equipment has changed, especially the bat. Not just cricket, you take any sport. I play golf and I know how much the equipment has changed in the last 30 years. There is so much technology involved in every step of the game – the training methods, the video analyses and so on – there is a new development every year. But I am glad the basics of the game have remained the same. The ones and twos are still there. Whether you just clear the rope or hit the ball out of the stadium, it still gets you only six runs. And I hope it remains the same. Attitude-wise there has been major shift in batsmen. The T20s have definitely changed the technical aspect of the game. People these days aren’t too afraid to play their shots. Even if they get out in the process, they are not too bothered. You don’t sense that sadness when they get out, that’s the only drawback.