The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Karnataka's heroes felicitated

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 11, 2007
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Karnataka's heroes felicitated

Principal Correspondent

Bangalore: It was a night of bonhomie and kind words while a giant screen flashed images of an era that ebbed away leaving us with memories to cherish. B.S. Chandrashekar, E.A.S. Prasanna, Gundappa Viswanath, Syed Kirmani and Roger Binny — men who excelled for India and Karnataka — were felicitated in a glittering function at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday night.

Sunil Gavaskar, in a speech rich in warmth and humour, said: "these were men who were not only great cricketers but were also great human beings and that is the most important thing."

The quintet were honoured with the traditional `Mysore peta' that was placed on their heads besides the shawl and they were also given a cheque for Rs. 5 lakh each in a function that the BCCI president Sharad Pawar termed as `impressive and well organised.' Ravi Shastri, master of ceremonies, compered the function and also lent a personal touch by sharing a few of his anecdotes related to the five players.

High point

The high point was when Gavaskar, after ribbing Viswanath about their relative lack of height, turned pensive, paused and then said: "I have no qualms in saying that he was the better batsman among the two of us. And I say here today, he was the greatest batsman I have ever seen." The applause from the stands was spontaneous and heart-felt. And in the shadow of the giants, Roger Binny held his own. The highest wicket-taker — 18 — in the Prudential World Cup in 1983, was praised as the ideal team-man. Shastri referred to him as the player `willing to get his hands dirty for the team.'

Chandrashekar spoke about his match-winning strikes (six for 38) against England in the Oval Test in 1971while Binny mentioned his late-afternoon six-wicket burst against Imran Khan's men at Eden Gardens in 1987. Prasanna spoke about the need for wicket-taking ability among the modern day spinners who have let one-dayers shackle them. Perhaps the most heart-warming sight of the event was when Bishen Singh Bedi clicked Prasanna's pictures on his mobile phone with the enthusiasm of a child. And as crackers burst and fireworks lit the night sky, nostalgia ruled.

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