Former India batsman Dilip Vengsarkar reflected upon a fulfilling, much-cherished journey playing at the highest level for his country and doing that successfully as he turned 64 this Monday (April 6).
Vengsarkar played 116 Tests for India, "his biggest satisfaction", captained and was part of the 1983 Prudential World Cup and 1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship winning teams. That's more than what many dream of, but the Mumbai right-hander is also remembered for his class batsmanship, his three consecutive hundreds at Lord's, mecca of our sport, and standing up to the mighty West Indies in Test match cricket.
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"When I look back, it's been a very happy and fulfilling journey," Vengsarkar told PTI. "Playing 116 Tests for India is the biggest satisfaction. Add to it, the 129 ODIs, winning World Cup and World Championship of Cricket. And to top it all, being an India captain. It was a great journey."
A lot of Vengsarkar's career coincided with that of the great Sunil Gavaskar, a once-in-a-generation Indian batsman, for whom much of the attention and accolades were always reserved, but Vengsarkar has no regrets.
"That's basically destiny," he said. "You had to work hard, play honestly and win matches for your team. That should be the goal for every cricketer. Whatever accomplishments that come along the way and whatever recognition you get, whether you got your due or not, it is pure destiny."
These are days when best of Indian batsmen struggle against quality spin, but there was a time when a teenage Vengsarkar could walk into a Mumbai first-class team straight from college cricket and smash a Rest of India attack, featuring the likes of Bedi and Prasanna on a turning track in the Irani Cup, and soon make his India debut.
"Nowadays, amount of international cricket is huge. In my time, I had a lot of time to play domestic matches like Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy. I played a lot of club cricket for Dadar Union even when I was an established India player. I played office cricket."
"In the domestic circuit, we got chance to face likes of Bishan Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar or Rajinder Goel in Ranji Trophy games. You had to raise the bar against these world-class bowlers," Vengsarkar added.
"Unfortunately, the current generation, they don't get an opportunity to play domestic cricket. if you are not playing domestic cricket then you adjust. Fast or spin, its abut adjustment. Bottom line is scoring runs whether you are playing at Lord's, Headingley or Eden Gardens."
"Read the wicket, see the situation, adapt to the wicket is what matters. Those things you learn as you play more."
Many years post his retirement, Vengsarkar made arguably his biggest contribution to Indian cricket, and the world game, selecting Virat Kohli straight from U-19 cricket to represent India, a call for which he even lost his chief selector's job as the BCCI establishment at the time wanted Subramaniam Badrinath to get the nod.
(Inputs from PTI)
