Richard Hadlee troubled me the most: Gundappa Renganath Viswanath

Chandigarh, April 23

Former Indian cricketer Gundappa Renganath Viswanath, known for his wrists’ strength and simplicity, was in the city to interact with cricket enthusiasts. He shared anecdotes of his biography, ‘Wrist Assured’.

It was a fine moment for the old as well as young cricket enthusiasts to listen to Viswanath, popularly known as Vishy, and get close to his journey of making 91 Test appearances for India from 1969 to 1983. Vishy remembered former Indian captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, while talking about his signature mark ‘strong wrists’.

“He ( Pataudi) came to me and appreciated my shot selection. However, he worriedly asked why my shots weren’t going for a boundary. Even I was surprised! He asked me if I hit gym. I was not even aware about a gym. He told me about it. At first, I thought he is just pulling my leg. However, he suggested me to lift buckets full of water three to four times a day. Thereafter, I came to know about the importance a strong wrist,” said Vishy, who is also brother-in-law of former international cricketer Sunil Gavaskar. The session was hosted by motivational speaker Vivek Atray and Dr HK Bali.

Sharing about his current favourite player in the Indian team, Vishy voted for Virat Kohli. “He is really a good player, full of skills. He has attained a lot while playing for the country,” he added.

When asked about his fear against any particular bowler, Vishy laughed and said, “I used to be afraid of everyone.” “Nevertheless, if you are asking about one, I will say Richard Hadlee. He had troubled me a lot and stopped me from scoring big.”

He also remembered former Indian cricketer Yash Pal Sharma, who died in July last year. “He was a great man. I remember, when I was struggling for making runs, he used to come to me and motivate me; not on one occasion, but many.”

The former cricketer added, “I was never angry but disappointed whenever I failed to score runs. To overcome that disappointment, self-assessment match by match is really important,” added the 73-year-old, who had scored a century on his Test debut.

“There’s a lot of cricket happening today and the IPL has given a new platform to players. However, I would suggest youngsters to play more of domestic cricket and longer format of matches. It’s really important to know about the inner strength and patience for a longer innings of a fine career,” said Viswanath, who played 308 First Class and 59 List-A matches.