Swashbuckling batsman of yesteryears, Sir Viv Richards of West Indies heaped praise on Indian captain Virat Kohli for leading from the front. Richards who was speaking at the ‘leadership summit’ of the Goa-Fest 2017 in Bambolim on Friday said that Virat reminded him of himself leading his own Caribbean side of the 1980s.
# Praises Virat for his aggression, leadership
# Laments West Indies cricket is in doldrums
Basil Sylvester Pinto and Rahul Chandawarkar button-hole the Windies legend for an exclusive interview
Richards who was known for his gum chewing and inimitable swagger was at his witty best and had the packed audience in splits.
Richards said that Virat who is blessed with magnificent skills had the will to fulfil his skills and that is why he was so successful.
Backing Virat’s aggression against the Australian cricket team in the just concluded series, Richards said, “The Aussies were nasty through the series and Virat confronted them at every occasion. This trait of Virat’s makes him a successful leader.”
In an exclusive interview to The Goan, the former Windies great lamented the fact that West Indies cricket was in doldrums. “It is unfortunate that money that could have been spent on development of Windies cricket is being used to keep retired administrators in a job.” According to the Windies great, several former Windies cricketers like him have tried to bring about change but unless the Windies cricket Constitution was completely revamped, there was no hope.
Known to have played his game at the highest level sans a helmet, Richards said even if such protective gear was invented in his day, he would still have worn his Test cap with pride.
Supporting the advent of T20 cricket, Richards believed that it was the format was creating new interest in the game and allowed families to come together for a night of entertainment. “T20 is a great format which creates excitement and brings the bums on the seats,” he added.
Richards supported the concept of DRS and said that it gave everybody a fair chance to compete. Earlier, while speaking at the ‘Leadership Summit’, Richards recounted his debut match as a 16-year-old batsman, when he was given out first ball when he was simply hit on the pads. “You knew you were done in, when even the umpire appeared to be appealing along with the fielding side!”
Richards recalled how he was allowed to take strike once again, after the partisan crowd turned unruly. However, as luck would have it, he could not get off the mark again. In the second innings, he failed to score once again. “I scored three ducks in one match!” Richards said.
Richards came down heavily on how the T20 game is skewed in favour of the batsman. “Even at my age, I would be able to clear these mickey-mouse boundaries. For a level playing field, with the bats being so big, the boundaries must be extended .” In a lighter vein he added that the 65-yard boundaries could encourage him to make a comeback.
