“Hoping no one forgets there was a guy without helmet who played like that” - Sir Viv Richards reminisces while hailing young Indian batting star
West Indian batting great Sir Viv Richards made a cheeky comment while praising young Indian opener Shubman Gill. After saying the opening batter reminded him of how he used to bat, Richards expressed hope that people would not forget how he himself played in a similar manner, but without a helmet.
Richards, 71, is widely regarded as one of the greatest batters to have played the game. Known to strike fear in the minds of opposition with his dominating presence at the crease, the former West Indies captain played 121 Tests and 187 ODIs, scoring 8540 and 6721 runs, respectively.
While Richards has always been a big fan of Virat Kohli, he has stated that he is also highly impressed with Gill. He wrote in his column for the ICC:
"Shubman Gill is another who bats with style and he is just one among a whole host of players who have all the big shots."
“I am just hoping no one forgets there was a guy without a helmet by the name of Vivian Richards who went out and played like that sometimes!,” he added in a humorous tone.
Gill, who has been in scintillating form in white ball cricket over the last year and a half, recently became the new No. 1 batter in the ICC ODI men’s batting rankings.
The 24-year-old has featured in 41 ODIs, scoring 2136 runs at an average of 61.02 and a strike rate of 102.20, with six hundreds and 11 fifties.
“Some of the shots played today are those I like to think I had in my armory” - Richards
Richards asserted that he could have played some of the extravagant strokes that modern-day batters do, but added that he is happy as a fan to watch how the game has progressed.
He, however, agreed that the reverse sweep would have been an unwise option without a helmet on.
"Some of the shots played today are those I like to think I had in my armory, maybe with the exception of the reverse sweep, but that would have been unwise without the lid on. I’d like to think my scoring rate matches up with the guys playing today, though the game has moved on massively - as a fan, I am delighted with where the game is at currently," Richards concluded.
Richards was part of West Indies’ dominant era that won the 1975 and 1979 ODI World Cups.