It was an
extremely eventful career that witnessed many scintillating events that marked Indian
cricket and Yadav, to his credit, was always in the middle of these glorious moments.
After his playing days, Yadav served as a national selector for a considerable period
before becoming the secretary of Hyderabad Cricket Association. Decades have passed since
he played his debut Test against the visiting Australian side in the late 70's, but the
fire is still burning in his belly. And he still possesses an insatiable passion for the
game. Disbarring a little paunch and some grey strands, the man still looks like a picture
of fitness.
The former Indian off-spinner talks in
an exclusive chat with www.khojhyderabad.com, about
his playing era, especially the series won against the formidable Pakis in 79-80 and the
historic Madras tie match, besides the prospect of Hyderabad cricket.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q. How was your debut series against the
visiting Aussies? Was it a weak side in the absence of guys like Greg Chappel and Denis
Lilee?
A. No, it was not a weak side. But after losing out most of the star players to Kerry
Packer series, it was a side that was rebuilding itself. I had 24 victims in that series
and those wickets were usually batsmen-friendly since Sunil Gavaskar the then Indian
skipper wanted those kind of flat tracks.
Q. What are your most important memories
regarding the 79-80 series against the visiting Pakistani side?
A. We won the series 2-0. Surprisingly, although Pakistan was a strong side they
hardly clicked as a team. Their star batsman Zaheer Abbas flopped miserably. But it was a
very important series for me. I enjoyed bowling to high quality players like Zaheer, Majid
Khan and Asif Iqbal. But I could play in only three matches because of a shoulder injury.
I was not happy with the number wickets I took. But Kapil dominated the series so much
that there was hardly anything left for the others. In almost all the matches, he used to
claim the first four wickets even before other bowlers got to settle down.
Q. In that series you came up as a
useful lower-order batsman and had few meaningful partnerships with Karsan Ghavri. Did
they come very handy in the context of the series?
A. Yeah, in the Bombay Test, Ghavri and I added some real valuable runs. And since it
was a low scoring match our contribution was quite important. In fact, India won that Test
match.
Q. How do you compare that Indian team
with the present lot?
A. It won't be proper to compare. But ours was a very matured side. In the bowling
department, we had also a lot of strength. Apart from Kapil and Ghavri, Dillip Doshi was
also a very good spinner. He was quite accurate and used to exploit the weakness of the
batsmen. But according to me, the best ever Indian side was the one that toured Australia
in 85-86. We had the best opening pair in the form of Gavaskar and Srikant, then there was
Kapil, Ravi (Shastri), Roger and Chetan Sharma and me. Presence of Mohinder and Vengsarkar
really made it a very strong side. Our bowling attack had a lot of variety.
Q. India came twice very close to
winning and that series yet ended in a draw. What went wrong?
A. Once we did not have any plans and some incomprehensible bowling changes allowed
the Australian last wicket pair to drag things. We were supposed to get some 50-odd more
runs but then the rain came down. Actually we were aware of it because there was a
forecast of rain earlier. I think we just allowed the match to slip away because of no
proper planning. Then again at Sydney we were denied a certain victory. But this time it
was due to some glaring umpiring decisions that went against us.
Q. Do you think Indian cricket misses a
utility player like Karsan Ghavri in its rank?
A. There is no dearth of players like Ghavri. What is lacking is Ghavri-like
commitment. He had an amazing commitment. The man did just anything that the captain
wanted him to do. He was a very gritty character, mentally very strong. Of the kinds who
never give up.
Q. Any other away series you enjoyed
playing?
A. Yes, the 1980-81 series against the Australia was really memorable. We played
against a very strong Australian side. Greg Chappel, Lilee, Len Pasco, Rodney Marsh were
all there. Yet we drew the series. We even bowled them out for a meagre 83 in the last
Test to level the 3-match series.
Q. What was your best contribution with
the bat while playing for India?
A. It was at Adelaide in the same 80-81 series. There were 20 mandatory overs to go.
Ghavri and I were at the crease. Each of us played out 10 overs. I remained not out on
zero. For me it was more than a hundred. What mattered most was that we saved the match.
Ghavri on the other end just scored two.
Q. What were your assets as a batsman?
A. I was mainly an offside player. Well, I used to drive well. But more importantly I
always stuck to my role that was to give support to top-order batsmen.
Q. How do you rate your bowling?
A. I used to flight the ball a lot. I had also a big turn. And because of good bounce I
was quite successful on Australian wickets.
Q. What about the greatest ever Indian
bowler Kapil with whom you played most of your cricket?
A. Kapil was not very quick. But one could easily fall prey to him because he moved
the ball a lot. He used to deviate the ball in the air. His late outswingers accounted for
the dismissal of many great batsmen. He almost forced them to play at those away going
deliveries.
Q. Which Indian batsman you really
admire?
A. Of course, Viswanath. Between Viswanath and Gavaskar I would definitely go anywhere
to watch Vishy. He had every thing, wrist work and footwork, as you name it. He hardly
ever used power. I have seen him against Lilee. At Adelaide he scored that gem of a
hundred. I was at the other end. Believe me I have never seen a hundred like that.
Q. What you remember most about the
Madras tie Test in 1986 against the Aussies?
A. Well initially, it was just another Test match. The conditions were hot and humid.
We were struggling to avoid follow-on, then Kapil got that magnificent hundred. Till the
fourth day, we could not foresee any result. Then came the sportive declaration from Allan
Border. We had to score some 300-odd runs. India had a good batting line-up. Kapil told us
to give it a try. We got off to a good start. But for every 50 runs or so we were
regularly losing wickets. But that means the chase was on since there was a steady flow of
runs.
Q. Any special personal memory from that
match?
A. Yes, I hit the only sixer of my career in that match. Ravi, who was batting well on
the other end, told me to have a go at Greig Mathews. I took my chance and cleared the
ropes. In the first innings, I took four wickets.
Q. When did you last play for India?
A. My last Test match was in 1987. It was against the Pakistanis at Bangalore. I took
two wickets in that match.
Q. What is going to be your next
milestone?
A. Everybody wants to give back something to the game. It has given us so much. My
goal is to promote Hyderabad cricket and get as many players as possible from here into
the Indian side. My life is very hectic as the HCA secretary since we organise numerous
league matches and tournaments at various levels. It is a round-the-clock job. We have to
organise on average nearly 4000 matches per year.
Q. Where does Hyderabad cricket stand
right now?
A. Hyderabad cricket is very strong at the grass-root level. We are almost on par with
Mumbai. There are many talented youngsters who can break into the national side if
properly nurtured. Deliberately I don't want to name them because there's always a danger
that I might be leaving out some names. And that would be unfair. The idea is to upgrade
the facilities available here. That apart, the standard has dramatically gone up at other
centres in the country. We have to keep up with the growing competition.
Rudy Mohan |
