Gundappa Vishwanath turns 75, know the story of this batsman who is called treat to watch

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Bengaluru. Great Indian batsman Gundappa Vishwanath is known for his beautiful wrist art. He turned 75 years old on Monday, July 12, 2024. He had an international career spanning nearly 14 years and is considered one of India’s greatest batsmen. He was a batsman whom cricket fans enjoyed watching play.

Born on February 12, 1942 in Bhadravati, an industrial town in Shivamogga district of Karnataka, Vishwanath was one of the finest batsmen to play for the country. The people of the new generation did not see him play live but heard his stories a lot.

He was a player whom everyone loved to watch. He came to national prominence by scoring a double century on his first-class debut for Mysore (the then name of the Karnataka team) against Andhra at Vijayawada in 1967–68.

Vishwanath scored 137 runs in the second innings of his first Test match after being out for a duck in the first innings against Australia at Kanpur in 1969. He scored 6,080 runs in 91 Test matches at an average of 41.93. Which included 14 centuries and 35 half-centuries.

He is called the first troubleshooter of the Indian team. This is because out of the 14 centuries that Gundappa Vishwanath scored in his Test career, the Indian team did not face defeat in any of the matches. In these matches, either the Indian team won or the match was a draw.

Some of his memorable innings in Test cricket included a match-winning innings of 97 runs against a West Indies bowling line-up featuring Andy Roberts at Chennai in 1974/75.

Also included is an innings of 124 against West Indies at the same venue in 1978/79. Then, in 1975/76, memorable innings of 83 and 79 runs against New Zealand on the green pitch of Christchurch are also recorded in his name.

Vishwanath, who captained India in two Test matches, also played 25 ODI matches, scoring 439 runs including two half-centuries.

Vishwanath was a member of the Indian team in the 1975 and 1979 Men’s ODI World Cups. Vishwanath was very popular for playing the square cut with his wristy batting style.

After retirement, Vishwanath served as an ICC match referee from 1999 to 2004. He also served as the vice-president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, as well as the chairman of national selectors from 1992 to 1996.

Vishwanath’s brother-in-law is another great Indian batsman, Sunil Gavaskar. He also worked as a batting coach at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.

Vishwanath was awarded the CK Naidu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. Then, he was also awarded the Arjuna Award in 1977/78.

Recently, Vishwanath has been a commentator and expert on the ODI World Cup 2023 in Star Sports’ Kannada feed, while he wrote an autobiography titled ‘Rist Assured’ in 2022.

“We always celebrate milestones. I am grateful and thank God for keeping me alive at the age of 75,” Vishwanath told Times of India.

“I am looking forward to moving forward. Being a cricketer I always feel that once you get to 50 and then 75, you are looking for a century. It is really exciting to make 100,” he said. It’s time to work hard.”

–IANS

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