|
 Cricketfundas.com's
B.V.Swagath interviewed Venkatapathy Raju minutes after
Hyderabad pulled off an incredible win over Uttar Pradesh at the
Gymkhana Grounds.
You just finished a long career
after playing 176 1st class games, 28 Tests and 53 ODIs. What
exactly are your feelings now?
I have worked hard all these years. It has to
come to an end one day anyhow. As you said it has been a long
career of 19 years and I am happy that I could sustain all
along. It takes lot of strain and I am really happy that I could
do well for my state and country. And the retirement has come at
the right time also.
Hyderabad has won this game,
when everyone thought UP would walk away with the match. Even
you told me that they would score the runs before lunch. What
happened today? How did you pull this win?
Hyderabad Vs Uttar Pradesh Scorecard
Our bowlers bowled brilliantly. First innings
we didn't bowl as good as we could but the 2nd innings was the
real transformation. N.P.Singh our main bowler opened the
floodgates and once we got them struggling at 48/4 we knew we
had a slight chance. And you know cricket is a game of glorious
uncertainties and that's what we had witnessed today.
Probably they wanted to win the match
for you…? And you must be a really satisfied man now?
This was the best parting gift, I would have asked for. I didn't
think that we could win this match but all the boys really
lifted their game and I really thank them. I am satisfied
definitely, it has been a perfect finish to my career with this
win and it's good that I ended up on the winning side. You can't
ask for a better gift than this for sure.
So let's talk about your early days
into Cricket, how did it start?
I was in Hyderabad Public School, Ramantapur and
there was a Sir called Anjaneya Sastry who spotted me. He was
the one who taught me the art of left arm spin.
I heard you were a right arm
bowler to start with? Is that true?
Yeah I used to do everything with the right hand, I write with
my right hand, I bat with my right hand. But I used to throw
with my left hand and that's why Anjaneya Sastry Sir asked me to
switch over to left arm spin. Another reason was that they were
many off spinners at that time. Only because of that decision I
could play for India.
Who were your childhood heroes? Any
left arm spinners in particular?
That time everyone were talking about Bishen Singh Bedi but I
never saw his bowling those days. But Dilip Doshi was my hero;
he took lots of wickets in the Ranji Trophy and more than 100
wickets in Tests. He got a late entry into international cricket
but he was one who got top order batsmen with his guile.
Can you share with us some moments of
your first test that you played against New Zealand at
Christchurch in 1990?
That was a special match for me and my first wicket was Martin
Crowe. You can't ask for a better wicket than that of Martin
Crowe's. I picked up 3 wickets in that innings and thought I had
done pretty well. Both of my first two tours were away so they
were really testing.
So...which has been your most memorable
wicket, most memorable ODI and Test?
My most memorable wicket was that of Mark Waugh in Sydney, he
was stumped. Most memorable ODI was the quarterfinal against
Pakistan at the Chinaswamy Stadium. But after winning that match
it was disappointment for us as we had gone down to Sri Lanka in
the semis at the packed Eden Gardens. First series that I had at
home was against Sri Lanka and I got a Man of the Match award at
Chandigarh. That was a memorable match for me.
Raju, you were a part of the victorious
Hyderabad team that won the coveted Ranji Trophy in 1986-87
against Delhi. Please tell us about that finals played at the
Feroz Shah Kotla.
I played till the semi finals. Shivlal came back
to the side and I had to make way for him. I remember Abdul
Azeem scored a superb 100. We were actually struggling at 110/5
and Azeem and Arshad Bhai (Arshad Ayub) put on a big partnership
to take us to a good position. Delhi were doing well but the two
Yadav brothers (Rajesh and Shivlal) bowled us to the crucial
first innings lead. Vijay Mohan Raj scored a double hundred in
the 2nd innings, Arshad Bhai got the Man of the Match.
Okay Raju, out of this list a.)
Md.Rafique b.) Daniel Vettori c.) Murali Kartik d.) Ashley Giles
e.) Herath f.) any others, who do you think is the better bowler
and why?
I would say Daniel Vettori, because he has bowled consistently
well everywhere in the world. He has a brilliant armer which
worries the best of the batsmen, even Ricky Ponting made a
statement recently that Vettori is the bowler that they had to
watch for. He also bowls long spells, which is always important
for a spinner. We can't really talk about Murali Kartik at this
stage since he hasn't played that much of International Cricket.
Although he is quiet a star at the Ranji Trophy level, he has a
long way to go.
So what are your plans for the future?
I am going to the US, I want to play league cricket for sometime
there and comeback. My friends over there are setting up an
academy too and I want to have some fun, there are a couple of
good teams there as well. May be six months there six months
here.
Where do you think Hyderabad is going,
now that they are minus Raju?
I don't think it would be a big factor. There are all good
players and someone like Rayudu and others have to lift their
game and keep the progress going. I am sure they would in course
of time. They just got to believe in themselves.
Talking about Rayudu, he has been
hailed by the local media as the next Sachin. But the fact is
that he hasn't scored a single fifty this season. So is all the
hype generated about him justified?
It happens, everyone has a lean patch in their career and they
would get over that. It's good that he has had this lean patch
early on in his career so he would learn how to come over it at
a young age itself. He is a special talent and has to forget
about all the pressure and just enjoy his natural game. He has
performed well in the past and I find no reason why he wouldn't
in the future.
Any special moments that you had when
bowling in tandem with Kumble and Chauhan that you would like to
share?
Yeah we were a successful combination for 3-4
years. We had a good rapport with each other and supported each
other very well. We won 3-0 against England, won against Sri
Lanka and other series. Our combination was unfortunately broken
after Chauhan was called for chucking. Bowling with Anil was the
best part of my cricket. He was very aggressive and all I had to
do was to bowl line and length to support him.
Anil Kumble has just become the highest
wicket taker for India in Tests. How do you feel about his feat
?
It's really great work and determination by Anil.
He has taken so many wickets in both the formats of the game.
People say he doesn't turn the ball, does it matter when he
takes so many wickets? He is a really strong character and it's
just amazing to see him comeback after that shoulder injury and
pick up those many wickets.
If I had asked you to review your
career in brief?
I never thought that I could play for so many years. I had a bad
debut against Andhra where I dropped a couple of catches. That
time my coach Vijay Paul had motivated me to aim at playing at
least 10 years. I have played for more than 10 years and that's
what I am happy for. I have always been into line and length and
as I played more and more cricket, I picked up the art of flight
and other variations and how to bowl on different wickets. I
could adjust to any sort of wickets. I have been a happy and a
lucky person who had made lots of friends. People say that I am
casual but you can't be casual on the field. I always gave my
100% for Hyderabad and for India.
Any final message to the Hyderabad
Ranji Team through Cricketfundas.com?
Just enjoy your game and start winning and aim at
playing higher grade of cricket. That's all I want to tell them.
|
