GR Viswanath
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A brief biography
Manuja Veerappa, February 12, 2024: The Times of India
From: Manuja Veerappa, February 12, 2024: The Times of India
Bengaluru: In 1960, an aspiring cricketer, barely 11 years old from sportingrich South Bengaluru, watched his hero – Australia’s Neil Harvey—in action against an Indian Universities team in a tour match at the erstwhile Central College ground.
The youngster was in awe of the lefthanded great’s fearlessness and dominance over the bowlers. It left a deep impact on the child, who then made a resolution to play for India.
His dreams were almost extinguished when at 15, he was told he was too young and short to make it to the state schools’ team. Disappointed, but unwilling to give up, he continued to pile on the runs and a few years later, scored a sparkling doublecentury (230) on debut for Mysore state (now Karnataka) against Andhra in Vijayawada. That was only the beginning of his storied journey in Indian cricket.
Short in stature, towering in deeds, he was an artiste who showcased bold batting. The silken square cuts were as revered as his on-field grace and fair play. Humble and endearing off-field, the legend goes by the name Gundappa Ranganath Vishwanath.
Born on Feb 12, 1949, in Bhadravati, an industrial town in picturesque Shivamogga district, GRV— as the genial maestro is known —moved to Bengaluru as a four-year-old. From the time he picked up a bat, all he ever wanted to do was play cricket. He did, and how! In a career spanning almost a decade-andhalf, he featured in 91 Test matches, scoring 6,080 runs including 14 centuries.
GRV, who turns 75 on Monday, remains as grounded as he was 55 years ago, when he scored 137 in the second innings of his Test debut against Australia in Kanpur in 1969.
Speaking to TOI on the eve of his landmark birthday, the diminutive genius’ humour was as exquisite as his stroke-making.
“We always celebrate milestones. I’m grateful and thank God for keeping me going at 75. I’m looking forward to going further because being a cricketer, I always feel once you reach 50 and then 75, you look for the century. That said, this is the time to work really, really hard to get that 100. I plan to play as straight as I can. I didn’t do that earlier, probably this is the right time to play straight and safe to stay healthy,” he remarked.
The middle child of seven born to G Ranganath, a stenographer with the Mysore State Electricity Board, and Savitramma, a homemaker, GRV recalled the contribution of his parents in shaping his career.
“My parents were helpful. While I had nephews and nieces who were very academic-oriented, I wasn’t inclined towards studies. I only wanted to play sport. Any parent would want their children to concentrate on academics and my parents were no different. But once they realised that I wanted to pursue cricket, they supported me and helped in shaping my career, the way I wanted to. They were very proud of me.”
GRV got emotional while speaking about his maternal grandfather Muthanna, who offered him unconditional support.
“Till I was about 11 or 12, I spent all my summer holidays at his home. We were a huge family and I played a lot of cricket there. When I started playing age-group and state cricket, he was very emotional about how my career was shaping up. He took great pride in my journey. The love, affection and encouragement I got from him meant a lot to me,” he added. While Harvey was GRV’s boyhood hero, he spoke about the other men who played a defining role in his career.
“My hero was always Neil Harvey. My brother Jagannath helped me a lot when I was coming up the ranks. When I started playing for the state, stalwarts like EAS Prasanna and V Subramanya were very encouraging. Once I got into the Indian team, players like ML Jaisimha and my first captain, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, offered me unstinting encouragement and believed in my talent. That mattered a lot and helped me grow as a cricketer,” recollected GRV.
Although GRV played his last Test match in 1983, he continued to represent Karnataka. His love for his home state is well-documented and even today, he is never too busy to offer advice to any youngster who seeks it.
Known to play cricket and live life on his own terms, GRV has few regrets in life.
“I’ve enjoyed the way I have played and I don’t want to change it. I probably missed out on a few centuries. They don’t worry me personally, but my three-figure marks always came in winning causes, so I could have played longer innings and helped India win more matches.”
Century on test debut
GR Viswanath, Nov 15, 2019: The Times of India
From: GR Viswanath, Nov 15, 2019: The Times of India
Fifty Years Ago On This Day, A Mustachioed Rookie Walked Out To Make His Test Debut For India Against Australia In Kanpur. He Didn’t Stay Long. Enraged Fans Hurled ‘Matkas’ At The Batsman After He Was Dismissed For A Duck. However, In The Second Innings, He Struck A Century To Thunderous Applause From The Same Spectators. In The 90 Test Matches He Played Thereafter, GR Viswanath Oozed Class, Skill And Humility. The Legend Looks Back On The Baptism By Fire And The Match That Shaped His Career…
To begin with, I wasn’t in the 15 for the first Test of the home series against Australia in Bombay. I had been among the reserves for the series against New Zealand the previous month. So, when I didn’t see my name on the list for the Australia series, I was very disappointed. I thought I wouldn’t get a chance to play for India, so I decided to watch the match since I was already in Bombay for the national camp. After the third day’s play I wanted to head back to Bangalore. But (EAS) Prasanna, who was my older brother’s friend told my brother, who had travelled to Bombay, that I may get a chance in the second Test and I should stay back. On the last day of the first Test when they announced the team for the second match, I was indeed in the 15.
On the day of the match, I wasn’t hopeful of making the 11. Just before going out for the toss, our captain Pataudi (MAK Pataudi) pinned the team sheet in the dressing room and said, ‘this is the team’. What I saw on the board shocked me. It read: 1. Farokh Engineer, 2. Ashok Mankad, 3. Ajit Wadekar and.. the number 4 was GR Viswanath. I was shocked that I was being handed my debut but didn’t think that was the batting order. A bigger shock awaited me when the captain came back from the toss. He said, ‘Ok gentlemen, we are batting and the batting order is pinned on the board.’ I had butterflies in my stomach, naturally. I went out to bat in the company of Wadekar. I played out a maiden over of spinner Ashley Mallett. Wadekar then took a single and I was left to face pacer Alan Connolly. The third delivery to me was a slower one and I played it blindly and was caught by Ian Redpath.
My career started with a zero and my first thought was, life can't get worse than this.
As I was coming back to the pavilion – the crowd was having chai in matkas – they started throwing the matkas at me. Naturally, they were disappointed.
I was shaken by the zero on debut. (Eknath) Solkar was my roommate. He played against New Zealand in his debut game (in Hyderabad) a month earlier, where he got out for zero. I had pacified him then. In Kanpur, he was again my roomie and it was his turn to pacify me. I said, ‘thank you boss.’ It was comforting.
Luckily, we batted first and we got the second innings in the drawn match. I had more butterflies in my stomach in the second innings than the first. I came out to bat at no. 4 again. Later, Tiger (Pataudi), who batted at no.5, tapped me on my shoulder. ‘Just relax boy, you will get a hundred,’ he said. He didn’t mean that I would get a hundred, it was to put me at ease. And that really gave me some confidence. It helped relax my body and my mind. I started to play my natural game. I batted almost for six hours before Ashely Mallett got me out for 137 (25x4). As I wascoming back,thesame matkawielding crowd stood up and clapped. That night I realised that there is nothing like getting runs.
