Woorkeri Venkat Raman
I enjoyed my stint with the Indian team and gave my best every time I played for the country. I do not have any regrets. Yes, there are many who say that I ought to have played more matches for the country. Although I agree with them on a couple of counts, selection was not in my hands. Strange as it may sound now, if you look back, my career had many twists. As a schoolboy, I began as a batsman, then was an all-rounder for some time, then a bowler who could bat, and finally a specialist batsman who could send down a couple of overs without any problems!
That apart, while I batted down the order for my state, I was pushed up the order for the country. I took it at as a challenge and have fond memories of my playing days. My career was similar to that of S Badrinath in many ways. People say that apart from being shuffled up and down the order, I never got my due on several occasions despite being good enough.
I began playing cricket like any schoolboy would. Being brought up in Triplicane (the hub of cricket activity in Chennai then) there was no way that I could have missed the action. I began playing just for the fun of it, but when I began to do well at the school level, cricket became an addiction.
Slowly, I developed the desire to do well and was determined to go up the ladder. Although I played for my school and, later, college, it was the TNCA league that gave me lot of satisfaction. Mind you, the first-division league in those days was very competitive with many top players turning out for various sides. All the teams were strong and the league sides of my time were much better than some of the Ranji Plate sides today.
I cherish playing for Grand Slam and taking it from the lower division to first division. Tamil Nadu's Ranji Trophy win in 1989 will always be special for me, but I also value all the wins and performances I gave at various stages of my career.
Coming to the Ranji win, I think we had a wonderful team sprinkled with lot of genuine all-rounders. To win the Ranji Trophy, you generally need to bat well and have depth in the ranks.
The 1989 team had players who could bat down to No 11. M Venkatramana used to come in at No 11 and by no account was he a rabbit. B Arun used to play as No 10 and he could bat a bit. Plus we had wonderful close-in fielders in Robin Singh and V Sivaramakrishnan. M Venkatramana, in particular, bowled well throughout our campaign. This performance got him an India call. Our ground fielding was superb. We had the right mixture of experience and youth. Many say that was perhaps the best Ranji side Tamil Nadu has had, but I beg to differ. The side I managed in 1991-92 was a much better one.
My initiation into Test cricket was dramatic. I was included at the eleventh hour. I batted at No 4 and 3 in my debut Test against the West Indies in Chennai in 1988. I batted lower down for my state, but here I was made to bat up the order. I had nothing to lose and made best use of the opportunity.
I made 83 in the second essay. It felt fabulous to play against my childhood hero Viv Richards. It was a great feeling playing my debut Test in front of my home crowd and it inspired me to perform at my best.
People talk about my one-day hundred in South Africa. Some feel it is my best innings, but to me, it was a good innings at that point of time, given the circumstances. We had lost all the preceding matches and someone had to make a good score. I came up with this knock. A century in an ODI is always big, but I cherish my 83 against the West Indies on my home ground more.
Coaching was a natural progression and I am enjoying my stint with Tamil Nadu. The team is going through a period of transition and I am happy to be part of it. Building a team is nothing new for me. I have built teams right from my school days. I used to identify boys and form a team that would dominate the school scene for a couple of seasons. It was the same in college and in the TNCA league, where I built the Grand Prix team almost single-handedly.
ashokvenugopal@yahoo.com