The real Little Master

In 1981, I was at school when India was playing Australia at Melbourne. India was batting and it was not going well. While batsmen came and went, one man held on, gracefully stroking runs even as Lillee and Pascoe ran amok. I did not hear a single word of this innings (this was in the pre-TV broadcast days of cricket in India) and as soon as I walked in the gate my brother excitedly yelled out the score. By the time I ran upstairs, Gundappa Rangnath Viswanath was out, 9th out for 114 in a total score of 237. To this date, my brother holds me responsible for that dismissal, but my love for Vishy's game was cemented from his vivid description of the entire innings.

Over the years I had heard tales of this diminutive Indian's batting from my grandfather, father and brother, but until I saw his 222 at Madras the next year I was not entirely convinced. Since then, I have watched a lot of cricket but I have not seen a batsman who gave me more pleasure, and whose tales give me more goosebumps, than Vishy, the original Little Master.

Vishy's career was brought to an abrupt halt by Imran Khan a year later. I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating that I have never seen a bowler who put more fear in me than Imran Khan (and Malcolm Marshall a year later) in that '83 series. (Click on this link to watch some of his bowling here). There was very little outcry when Vishy was dropped, and though he harbored hopes of a recall for the next couple of years, he quietly faded away, much like his personality. He resurfaced later as a mild-mannered (big surprise there!) Match Referee and these days is hardly heard from, unlike his more visible brother-in-law.

On February 12th, Vishy turned 60, and the tributes flowed in, as they tend to do when some momentous occasion is upon us. I present below some of the more interesting (and heart-felt) ones:

To open proceedings: Rahul Dravid took over the mantle of the talisman of the Indian team from Vishy. India NEVER lost a Test match when Viswanath made a century, such was his influence on the proceedings. Rahul Dravid was at the batting forefront of every major Indian Test victory for more than a decade, until a recent fallow run that has rubbed some of the sheen off of that reputation. He has many memories of the man.

It was Vishy, as chairman of selectors, who picked me to play the Ranji Trophy from the under-19s and presented me my cap in Pune. At that time he was also travelling with the team as manager and this resulted in some of my fondest memories. We used to take a lot of long train journeys and as the night wore down Vishy would be enjoying his favourite tipple and the hours flew by as he and the likes of Kirmani talked cricket.

Rubbing shoulders with them and listening to those conversations left a lasting impression. It's no coincidence that a batch of us who grew up under Vishy's tutelage went on to play regularly for Karnataka, win the Ranji Trophy and then some onto higher honours as well.

The other Karnataka giant who conjured up almost as many important wins for India with his bowling, Anil Kumble, is no less effusive in his praise.

Vishy was a legend that every young cricketer looked up to, particularly those who grew up in Karnataka. I first met him when he was a Karnataka selector, and he used to frequently visit the nets, offering valuable advice to youngsters. One moment that I will never forget was when I had the opportunity to bowl to Vishy in the nets, which I cherish till this very day.

KC Vijaya Kumar of The Hindu provides some more specific details about Vishy.

The man, diminutive in physical traits but a giant in his batting stature, has donned several hats in a life’s journey that commenced on February 12, 1949. Ask him which was his favourite role and the reply is quick. “Among all the roles I have played — player, selector, administrator, coach — I enjoyed my playing days the most and all other roles were a spin-off from my cricketing days,” said Viswanath.

Finally, and fittingly, here is Vishy on himself, in a very revealing interview with Suresh Menon in CricInfo. Some nuggets:

My personal favourite century is the 139 I made in the 1974-75 Calcutta Test against West Indies. Their bowling overall in that innings was superior to that in the next Test, in which I made 97 not out - which most people regard as my best innings.

Polly Umrigar advised me to roll my eyeballs when I was preparing to go in to bat. These are small things, but they make a great difference.

Let there be no confusion about this: I worked for my innings. Nothing came easily.

I wouldn't change anything if I had to live my life over again. Except for one-day cricket; I would have tried harder there.

To round it off, he has advice that any player (of any sport, for that matter) will be better off heeding.

Experience is not just about playing 40 Tests but about learning from each of them.