JOIN USFormer Karnataka cricketer Vijayakrishna passes away
"Swalpa varata (a little rough), but he was a man with a clean heart," legendary spinner EAS Prasanna told DH, as he waxed eloquent on former Karnataka all-rounder Baramiah Vijayakrishna, who passed away here at a city hospital.
Vijayakrishna, 71, was admitted to the hospital two days ago with health complications and breathed his last on Thursday following multiple organ failure and a heart attack, according to sources in the Karnataka State Cricket Association.
A left-arm spinner who could win matches with the bat too on his day, Vijayakrishna represented Karnataka in 80 first-class matches, scoring 2,297 runs with two hundreds. He claimed 194 wickets at an average of 27.30, with seven five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul. He also took 76 catches close-in, mostly off the bowling of Prasanna and BS Chandrasekhar.
Though Vijayakrishna had the game to play for India, his career, like many domestic left-arm spinning stalwarts, coincided with the great Bishan Singh Bedi. In the beginning, even in Karnataka, he remained in the shadow of giants Prasanna and Chandrasekhar. His game came together only in the 1980s in the company of another prolific left-arm spinner, Raghuram Bhat. He could also bowl left-arm wrist spin and possessed a potent googly, but left-arm orthodox remained his forte.
Incidentally, Vijayakrishna and Bhat had been baulked by Sunil Gavaskar, who chose to bat left-handed to negate their sharp turn in Mumbai's 1982-83 Ranji Trophy semifinal here against Karnataka.
"You can say he played at the wrong time as there were several established spinners when he started," noted Prasanna. "But he made a big impact at the domestic level. He was a match-winning player, and he was a captain's delight. In fact, he was instrumental in our first Ranji Trophy triumph in 1974. When Vishy (GR Viswanath), Brijesh (Patel) and Sudhakar (Rao) got out for low scores, Vijayakrishna was the one who lifted us to a good total with 70-odd (71), and had a good partnership with (AV) Jayaprakash (55). My prayers are with his family," he remarked.
Indeed, this rearguard act in Jaipur against Rajasthan has to be the abiding memory of Vijayakrishna's impressive career. With Karnataka reeling at 145 for 5, Vijayakrishna, coming in at No. 6, shared an innings-reviving 76-run stand with Jayaprakash for the sixth wicket, which proved crucial in a low-scoring match. Vijayakrishna was also part of the next two Ranji Trophy-winning Karnataka squads in 1977-78 (under Prasanna) and 1982-83 (under Patel).
Often referred to as a "rebel", Vijayakrishna was considered a "difficult" person to handle by the selectors. Indeed, if not for former India batsman and then Karnataka skipper V Subramanya, his career might not have taken off.
In the book Casting a spell: The Story of Karnataka Cricket by senior cricket journalist Vedam Jaishankar, Vijayakrishna recalled how Subramanya, convinced of his talent, fought for his inclusion in the state side.
"The selectors on their own would never have given me a chance. They didn't like my attitude and I didn't like theirs. I did and spoke as I wished and it was not appreciated. Mani (Subramanya) fought many battles on my behalf. He would propose my name and they would say I was difficult to control. He would tell them that controlling was his problem, not theirs and ultimately got me into the side."
Vijayakrishna's association with Viswanath goes back to their school days, and the batting stalwart feels he was greatly misunderstood because of his frankness. "I won't call him a rebel, but he was quite forthright in his opinions. He would call a spade a spade but that was his nature. I got along with him very well and we also had a great rivalry right from inter-school tournaments to our clubs to employers.
"He was with Syndicate Bank, and I was with State Bank of India. We have had some great duels. There was no winner, nor was there a loser. Credit to him that he could earn himself a place in the 11 with two of the finest spinners of that time - Prasanna and Chandrasekhar – still around. He was a maverick with the bat and one of the finest close-in fielders. I am really saddened by his demise," said Viswanath.