Gundappa Viswanath‘s tenure as captain of the Indian cricket team was shorter than Sachin Tendulkar‘s but a lot more memorable.
In the jubilee Test against England in Bombay, the “Bhimsen Joshi of Bhadravathi” called back wicket-keeper Bob Taylor, who had been wrongly adjudged out by the umpire. Taylor then went on to cement a crucial partnership with Ian Botham which won them the match.
That incident on top of several others, before and after, fetched Vishy a “nice man” image that no other cricketer, Indian or foreign, seems to enjoy with such unanimous universality.
Not so Andrew Strauss, the English captain.
Ayaz Memon writes in DNA:
“Sometimes Cowdrey, sometimes Jardine, Andrew Strauss’s split personality has provided the Champions Trophy in South Africa with its most engaging talking point.
“The two former England captains, for the uninitiated, represent two extreme positions in the game. Colin Cowdrey was a gentleman even though a professional, while Douglas Jardine, a gentleman by the then definition, was a hard-boiled pro who would stop at nothing to win.
“Strauss, who overruled the umpire and recalled Angelo Matthews in the best spirit of the game after the Sri Lankan was run out because he had crashed into bowler Graham Onions, cussedly refused to give South African skipper a runner when he suffered from cramps.
“You should be prepared for such things if you play a long innings,” he said tersely after the match. Smith overcame his dejection and came back with a counter. “My experience suggests that this game, like the world, comes around completely.”
“England are touring South Africa shortly. Fireworks are expected.”
Read the full article: Ayaz Memon on Dhoni
Also read: Is State’s success in cricket and economics related?
churumuri 
Did a hometeam crowd ever boo their own captain? Yes, it happened to Ritchie Benaud in the famed Tie series against West Indies. Joe Solomon hooked Benaud for a four and as he finished the shot, Solomon’s cap came off and disturbed the bail. When most of them were clapping for the Kanhai- like shot, Benaud appealed and Solomon was given out. As Solomon walked to the pavilion, the Aussie crowd booed Benaud!
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Strauss’ decision is the right one. Cramps are mostly caused by dehydration. So a major element of sporting fitness is to make sure that one is on a high carbo, diet and keeps sipping electrolytes frequently. I hated to see some tub like Arjuna Ranatunga making use of loopholes in the law and a chivalrous opposing captain to get himself a runner every time he broke a sweat. During the 90s, an unfit Pakistani batsmen or two would call for Ijaz Ahmed as their runner and he was fleetfooted and sure to run better.
Bradman believed that recalling a player, however chivalrous it may be, still disrespected the umpire’s authority. He also believed that it good/bad decisions evened out in the end. Merchant was fond of quoting this philosophy of Bradman. Unless the umpire was blind-sided (say by a fielder who grounded a ball or a wk who hit the stumps with his hand that did not have the ball) and gave a batsman out, the opposing captain should let the decision be.
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