‘I had healthy competition with Kapil’ KOHLI HAS A LONG WAY TO GO TO REACH TENDULKAR’S STATUS, EX-INDIAN ALL-ROUNDER SAYS
arsan Ghavri, one of India’s finest allrounders in the 70s and 80s, went on to carve a niche as a coach later. He became the first Indian pacer to take 100 wickets but could be a handy left-arm spinner if needed — not to speak of his abilities as an extremely useful lower order batsman.
Now in city to conduct a coaching clinic at the G Force Cricket Academy, the charismatic Ghavri spoke to Gulf News at length on various aspects of the game. Excerpts:
You have closely watched the rise of Sachin Tendulkar in Mumbai. Now there is a huge debate on whether Virat Kohli is better than Tendulkar. What is your take on it? I don’t think I can compare these two great players. Both are good but for Kohli to reach the standard of Tendukar he has to go a long way. It’s a great beginning for Kohli and he is a world class player. He is also an aggressive player and captain but I don’t think a comparison between Kohli and Tendulkar is warranted at this point.
You have played under great captains like Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and Bishan Singh Bedi, what is the quality you saw in Mahendra Singh Dhoni when compared to them? Dhoni is very calm and calculative. His sense of judgement, bowling changes and field placement are very good. In difficult situations, he could keep his cool. Pataudi was a very instinctive captain. He had lot of faith in his bowlers, batsmen and fielders. He was a great reader of the game as he knew that on such and such a wicket his bowlers will get the team out for 230 or 250 runs. He has often told me and did it. I made my debut in Kolkata against West Indies in December 1974. Pataudi gave me the new ball and told me and Madan Lal that we would only get two overs.
He said it won’t change even if we took three wickets in two overs. He brought in Bedi, Venkataraghavan, Prasanna and Chandrasekhar and made them run through the side.
You have seen the transition of cricket. What should one be careful about the transition? It was Kerry Packer who brought about the transformation in the game. He has changed the game completely. Traditionally the game was played only in whites but Packer made it limited over game, introduced coloured clothing, white ball and night cricket. A lot of electronic gadgets have now come into the game which has made it easier for the umpire and even the public to watch clearly whether one is out or not. Anything good for the game, should be encouraged. By watching cricket you can learn much more than in the past because watching a good game of cricket and a good player is a great teacher.
You were known for your unplayable bouncers? How did you learn different methods to be an effective player? I was all natural and maybe god gifted. In the younger days, everybody wants to bowl quick. I used to read a lot about Gary Sobers. He was my idol. He could bat anywhere, he can bowl with new ball and also spin and field anywhere. He was my hero and I wanted to emulate him though I knew I cannot be like him but wanted at least be point zero per cent near him.
Another great cricketer was Kapil Dev. He took 400 wickets and took more wickets at home than abroad. He showed the line and length is important and that speed is not everything and accuracy is the key. If one can put in the right areas and has the ability
Former Indian all-rounder
to move the ball both ways, you can get wickets. Kapil was never an express bowler he was effective as medium fast.
You were his partner when Kapil made his debut. What was your impression about him then? There was a great sense of competition between us. When he used to take a wicket and I used to say that if he can take one, then I can pick two. He too used to think the same way. It was a very healthy competition because if you check the
The main factor is Mumbai players are hungry for success. The reputation of the players have also played a huge role. Mumbai has produced so many great cricketers right from Vijay Merchant to Vijay Manjrekar and Vinoo Mankad to Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. Winning was a habit of the team and it’s still there but smaller teams (read Gujarat who upset Mumbai recently to win the Ranji Trophy) have now become very competitive.