Legendary Pakistan cricketer Inzamam-ul-Haq has heaped praise on West Indies’ batting great and one of the iconic masters the game has ever seen, Sir Vivian Richards, saying the modern game is producing the number of aggressive and talented cricketers, but Richards remains unmatched even today.
He further claimed that no one can beat the stature Richards had despite the high-scoring encounters and the dominance of the T20 format in the modern era.
Former Pakistan captain and national chief selector further insisted that the real essence of cricket is aggression, that is something people love to watch on the field and Vivian and aggression complement each other very well and that remains unmatched even in the current generation.
Revealing an interesting tale when the West Indies great had a friendly bet with him, Inzamam said in a YouTube video: “I can’t see aggression, like that of Viv Richards, in the modern game despite the high scoring matches we see today. The passion was just too high. The real essence of cricket is aggression. People enjoy watching cricket because of aggression,”
He further revealed the story, “I was once batting with the legendary Sir Vivian Richards. He came over to me and asked me if I wanted to check who could hit the biggest six between us. I smiled and said sure. I thought he is a retired player and I was quite young at the time while I had faith in myself.”
Pakistan’s leading ODI run-scorer further explained, “In the first over he hit a six, which landed in the parking region outside the ground. Then I hit a six, which went above the dressing room and went further than Richard’s six. I happily told him that I had hit a bigger six. He simply replied that they weren’t out yet, we are still playing.”
He signed off by saying, “In the third over, Viv Richards hit a six that went above the dressing room and into the house behind. He didn’t just hit one. He hit three massive sixes into the nearby houses. He was just that kind of a player. He played at this level even after retirement. He was such a great player. I think the players will be learning so much since he is mentoring the Quetta Gladiators side.”
(With Hindustan Times Inputs)
