Viv Richards foresees bright future for Indian cricket under Virat Kohli

West Indies legend Sir Vivian Richards praised Virat Kohli as a fearless champion and believes the current Indian Test skipper can lead the country to a highly successful period in its cricket history. Speaking to The Times of India in an exclusive interview, Richards also urged the cricket authorities to preserve the stature of Test cricket by curbing the tendency of younger players to play too much T20 cricket.

Despite the final Test being washed out due to poor drainage facilities at the Queen’s Park Oval, India won the four-match Test series 2-0 after convincing victories in Antigua and St Kitts. While Ravichandran Ashwin was the star performer claiming his sixth Man of the Series award after emerging as the leading wicket-taker with 17 wickets as well as scoring 236 runs, including two centuries, Kohli’s aggressive captaincy and team selections drew praise from various quarters.

The series victory against Jason Holder’s side continued Kohli’s brilliant start to his full-time captaincy after defeating Bangladesh (one-off Test), Sri Lanka and South Africa in his first three series as skipper. Richards is certain that bright things are in store for the Indian cricket team and believes is the right man to lead India as it hopes to continue its fine run of form.

“They (India) have won the series handsomely and it opens the door even though you may not have played the best West Indian team. But they did what they had to do, especially Ashwin, coming at six which was new for him and doing so well. I don't know how he is going to handle it in the future but he is on the right track with bat and ball,” Richards said.

“The Indian team has done its job here and that's all you could have done. To me, they played very well and that should create confidence. And it's nice to have a captain as positive as Virat. His body language says it, the way he is in the field. It should give them the confidence to compete at a much better and higher level, especially Down Under.”

Elaborating on his impression of Kohli, Richards said that the 27-year-old is a fearless cricketer who leads the team from the front.

“I like the way he (Kohli) approaches the innings. He doesn't have any fears. One of the things I was most impressed with was in Australia when he scored those fours hundreds with the abuse and a lot of things coming your way, he stood his ground. That to me was very special,” he said.

“I like the way he gives it back and this is what competition is all about at the end of the day, so long as no one is hurt and you feel comfortable in the fact that you had competed hard and a few words were said and it's over. If you are in an aggressive country of fast bowlers and aggressive talk, some people hide. Virat came to the surface and performed. That to me is what champions are all about, the real deal,” he added.

Richards wants the ICC to step in to save Test cricket

One of the main talking points in the midst of West Indies’ meek surrender at home against India was how players like Chris Gayle and Andre Russell were playing in the Carribean Premier League while the Test team featured many inexperienced players. While Richards did not directly name any player, he feels the younger players are not giving Test cricket the respect it deserves.

“One of my main suggestions to the governing body is if you can put aside a period of time for individuals who want to play cricket at the highest level as Tests are the backbone of cricket. You have to make sure your best players are available for Test cricket and the best players who come out of that then should be drafted into IPL. Too many young players are jumping the gun and not wanting to play Test matches because of the attraction of T20 cricket,” Richards said.

The batting maestro also wants the ICC to stipulate a minimum of 75 yards as the boundary distance as he feels smaller boundaries and not heavy bats are to blame for the game being tilted unfairly in favour of the batsmen.

“I see nothing with the bats. What I see are the boundaries. They are very small. Sometimes you are playing with 60-yard boundaries. When you are playing with such good modified bats, the boundaries should be a little bit more respectable. Seventy-five yards should be the least. On these small boundaries, if a guy mis-hooks, it can still go for a six even though that's a position you want your batsman to be in where he plays a false shot. That is making the game look a little silly,” Richards said.

Richards not willing to choose between Lara and Tendulkar

Richards feel that Tendulkar and Lara are inseparable in terms of their batsmanship

When asked as to who was the better batsman among Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, Richards said that the two batting legends were inseparable even though the Indian batting maestro shaded it with better numbers against his name.

“I will never ever get into that argument. They were too special for me to separate,” Richards said. “Because of his achievements and the numbers he has amassed, you have to give the nod to Sachin but in batsmanship, it's hard to separate the two. It was great that the two came around the same time and the world saw it.”