HYDERABAD: It has been a decade since ML Jaisimha has passed away. But his legend continues to fascinate many of the past cricketers, particularly his teammates. They pay glowing tributes to his game and his qualities as a human being. On Monday, two of them visited the ML Jaisimha 365 Academy, run by his wife Jayanthi and son Vidyut, at Sikh Village. The two visitors were his Hyderabad Ranji teammate Abbas Ali Baig and Hyderabadborn Pakistan skipper Asif Iqbal.
The stylish Baig, who was considered one of the three musketeers of Hyderabad cricket along with Jaisimha and Tiger Pataudi, was open about his affection for Jaisimha. “You can feel his essence and soul. He always wanted to do something for young cricketers. What better than this academy. I can feel his presence. This is what he really wanted to do. I’m so glad that an academy has come up. I’m sure it will produce good cricketers who will not only play for Hyderabad but also for India,’’ said Baig.
The 70-year-old Baig continued: “Jai was a genuine person. He was one of the best batsmen India has produced. He could switch gears easily.
He had the ability to adapt to situations and batted majestically. What separated him from others was his on-side play. In fact, we have wonderful on-side batsmen like Mohammad Azharuddin and VVS Laxman but Jai was the pioneer of on-side drives. The ball used to travel between mid-wicket and mid-on like a bullet when he batted. I haven’t seen anything as good as Jai’s on-drives although Azhar and Laxman come close. I loved my captain.” Asif Iqbal said Jai was his idol. “When I was in college, I used to dream of playing like Jai. It is good to be here in the academy. I have fond memories of Jai. He was a kind man and intelligent cricketer,” said Iqbal.
After their short visit to the academy, the two cricketers then made a lunch halt at PR Man Singh’s house. They were bowled over the collections at his famous library, called Pavilion. “It’s an amazing collection,” said Asif, who presented two Pakistan caps to Man Singh.
Former cricketers like Govindaraj, MV Narasimha Rao, SL Venkatapathy Raju, Satyanendran, Prasanna Kumar, Venkat, Ramakrishna were also present at the luncheon.
As Asif Iqbal left, he said the city had changed a bit since he last visited it but it would always be home for him.