Glad to see Shikhar Dhawan surpass my mark, says GR Viswanath
"Shikhar is talented and I hope he gets the opportunity to go further. All the best to him," Viswanath said.
BANGALORE: Not many cricketers -- former or current -- can match the grace of former Indian batsman GR Viswanath.
While his technical brilliance shone on the pitch during his playing days, his mild demeanour and simplicity made him a favourite among friends and rivals.
Viswanath showed that those qualities were still a big part of his life as he hailed India's new batting hero Shikhar Dhawan on Thursday.
Dhawan, who scored his maiden Test century on debut in the third Test against Australia in Mohali last week, eclipsed Viswanath's 44-year-old record by making the highest score by an Indian on debut.
"I'm so glad I got to see my record being broken," Viswanath said of Dhawan's 187, which beat his 137 in Kanpur against Australia in 1969.
"I thought his knock was fantastic and it seemed like it was just one of those days when everything went right for him.
It was a brilliant innings and I had never seen an innings like that in my lifetime."
Viswanath said the one aspect of Dhawan's innings that he particularly took notice of was the way in which he scored the runs. "He barely went over the top.
He kept the ball along the ground and he played calmly. I have seen him play in the Indian Premier League and he likes to take on the bowlers, but this was something different," he said.
"I remember he was part of the India U-19 camp at the NCA some years back. He had a tendency on some occasions to lean forward, making it tough to reach the ball.
He needed to work on his balance and I remember working with him on that aspect. I'm glad he has improved so much and he has become a bright prospect for India."
Viswanath said Dhawan's innings brought back a lot of fond memories for him too. "I am not saying I know I was as quick as him, but when he reached the 130-mark, he had around 25 boundaries and I remember I had scored as many.
We will never know how many balls I took to get there because they did not keep count of the number of balls then... but I was close," he laughed.
"After my ton, skipper Pataudi wanted me to get to 150 and the idea was to carry on as the match was headed for a draw. Unfortunately, I was out for 137.
After Shikhar crossed my mark, I wanted him to reach 200... that would have been a good benchmark."
Viswanath said the tendency to compare prodigious youngsters to past greats should be avoided while suggesting Dhawan and India teammate Cheteshwar Pujara had to carve their own identities in Indian cricket.
"With Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman retired, it's natural that players, fans and pundits try to compare emerging stars to these two greats.
They were totally different to what Pujara and Dhawan are. I think Pujara has shown that he is capable of stepping into the role of a dependable Test player.
Shikhar is talented and I hope he gets the opportunity to go further. All the best to him," he signed off.
While his technical brilliance shone on the pitch during his playing days, his mild demeanour and simplicity made him a favourite among friends and rivals.
Viswanath showed that those qualities were still a big part of his life as he hailed India's new batting hero Shikhar Dhawan on Thursday.
Dhawan, who scored his maiden Test century on debut in the third Test against Australia in Mohali last week, eclipsed Viswanath's 44-year-old record by making the highest score by an Indian on debut.
"I'm so glad I got to see my record being broken," Viswanath said of Dhawan's 187, which beat his 137 in Kanpur against Australia in 1969.
"I thought his knock was fantastic and it seemed like it was just one of those days when everything went right for him.
It was a brilliant innings and I had never seen an innings like that in my lifetime."
Viswanath said the one aspect of Dhawan's innings that he particularly took notice of was the way in which he scored the runs. "He barely went over the top.
He kept the ball along the ground and he played calmly. I have seen him play in the Indian Premier League and he likes to take on the bowlers, but this was something different," he said.
"I remember he was part of the India U-19 camp at the NCA some years back. He had a tendency on some occasions to lean forward, making it tough to reach the ball.
He needed to work on his balance and I remember working with him on that aspect. I'm glad he has improved so much and he has become a bright prospect for India."
Viswanath said Dhawan's innings brought back a lot of fond memories for him too. "I am not saying I know I was as quick as him, but when he reached the 130-mark, he had around 25 boundaries and I remember I had scored as many.
We will never know how many balls I took to get there because they did not keep count of the number of balls then... but I was close," he laughed.
"After my ton, skipper Pataudi wanted me to get to 150 and the idea was to carry on as the match was headed for a draw. Unfortunately, I was out for 137.
After Shikhar crossed my mark, I wanted him to reach 200... that would have been a good benchmark."
Viswanath said the tendency to compare prodigious youngsters to past greats should be avoided while suggesting Dhawan and India teammate Cheteshwar Pujara had to carve their own identities in Indian cricket.
"With Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman retired, it's natural that players, fans and pundits try to compare emerging stars to these two greats.
They were totally different to what Pujara and Dhawan are. I think Pujara has shown that he is capable of stepping into the role of a dependable Test player.
Shikhar is talented and I hope he gets the opportunity to go further. All the best to him," he signed off.
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