On Ganesh Chathurti day in Bangalore two men in white coats made their way to the middle at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. It triggered a massive wave of nostalgia in me, for my journalism career ran parallel to theirs — Shavir Tarapore and Sadanand Vishwanath.
Back in the early 1980s, the two donned Karnataka colours in the Ranji Trophy competition, and it was my pleasure to profile these two promising cricketers.
Shavir, son of the late Keki Bezon Tarapore who carved a niche for himself as a coach par excellence having spotted and nurtured the likes of EAS Prasanna, BS Chandrasekar, GR Viswanath, SMH Kirmani, Roger Binny, Brijesh Patel, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath, was a budding leg-spinner who was also a decent batsman down the order.
Shavir came into the Ranji reckoning just as Chandrasekar and Prasanna were at the fag end of their glorious cricketing careers. Young Shavir, being the son of Keki, obviously enjoyed more attention than other players in his age group. Unfortunately, Shavir failed to make a mark at the National-level despite enjoying rare moments of success.
Comment: Time to let Dhoni take over the reins in Tests
While Shavir continued regardless with his cricketing career with the Syndicate Bank, he gradually veered towards umpiring and today, he is reckoned to be one of the better officials. Personally, I thought he fell short of expectations primarily because he did not have the variations or the heart for punishment at the hands of the batsmen.
Also, with so many young guns jostling for a place in the Karnataka team that was going through its golden age with as many as six making it to the Indian team besides winning the Ranji Trophy thrice, between 1972 to 1982, Shavir faced a difficult task of cementing his position. The emergence of top all-rounders like Binny and J Abhiram, also meant that Karnataka was favouring the pacemen.
I had the pleasure of moving closely with Keki whom we all often contacted for material on talented young cricketers. But whenever I asked him about Shavir, Keki would say: “You have been seeing him and so, please form your own opinion, and whatever it is, I will respect it.”
Those days, the St Joseph’s College of Commerce was the epicentre of collegiate cricket in Bangalore as it boasted of a virtual assembly line that kept routinely producing talented cricketers. Shavir (and also Vishy) was a product of the college and quite naturally, the spotlight was on him as he began to take wickets by the dozen in local tournaments.
Sehwag toughest batsman to bowl to: Mendis
Even as Shavir made his way into the Ranji team, so did Sadanand Vishwanath whom I still reckon as the most talented wicketkeeper India has produced. Circumstances saw Vishy and I developing a very close friendship as he frequented the offices of the newspaper I was working for.
Vishy’s tale is as tragic as it could get. Born in a family of considerable means, Vishy radiated aggression that was typical of the times and a passion for cricket that at times went over the top. However, an overnight change in his family fortunes, put enormous strain on the young man. To compound his woes, he became a victim of politics that eventually nipped a blossoming career in the bud.
His greatest moments were in Australia where his performance behind the stumps received rave reviews. Vishy was a vital cog in the Indian team led by Sunny Gavaskar who led the side to a memorable triumph in the World Series Cricket in 1985. At that time, Vishy and Ravi Shastri were being spoken of as the future stars of Indian cricket.
But on his return home from Australia, Vishy’s cricketing graph nosedived. He had problems with some of the seniors in the Karnataka team and his inability to focus more on cricket rather than a life of pleasure, also contributed to his premature exit from the National scene.
I vividly remember the many hours I spent with Vishy trying to console him as he opened up to me with dressing room tales and also his off-the-field problems. He was reduced to a nervous wreck, shunned by friends. It took him over a decade to get his life back on track as he took to coaching and then umpiring.
While Shavir was a dour sort, Vishy was the opposite — flamboyant and extrovert. Both had the potential to make it big as cricketers , but neither did. Since their careers and mine ran parallel, I still harbour a special feeling for both.
Dhoni is ready for Test captaincy: Kirsten
And on Wednesday, when the two walked out to umpire the India A vs Australia A game in Bangalore, I couldn’t help but look back on those days when the three of us shared a few laughs and some good times, traveling by bus to far-flung venues for Ranji matches.
May be, neither Shavir, now 50, nor Vishy (45) lived up to the promise they had shown, but then, for me, it was still an occasion to see the two former team-mates occupying the crease, even if only as umpires.
