From biryani to boundaries: Hyderabad’s wristy wizards of the willow and their ‘onside affair’

They wielded their willows like magic wands. ML Jaisimha, Mohammed Azharuddin and VVS Laxman were all blessed with sheer wristy elegance, absolute grace, abundance of charm and pure style. They had that special gift while playing in particular the classic on-drives. Whether it was the flick off their hips or off their pads or off their toes, the stamp of class was evident. Their crispy glances or silken smooth on-drives had that velvety touch of finesse. They played these onside strokes with ease and it came naturally to them. There was that essence of panache written all over those shots. Among the top three elegant batters that Hyderabad produced were late ML Jaisimha, Mohammed Azharuddin and VVS Laxman. Abbas Ali Baig and the late Sultan Saleem were other right handers who also played stylishly and elegantly.

If the bowlers erred in length, particularly on the leg side, the ball would be dispatched with aplomb. During many of my interactions with Jaisimha he would speak highly of the late Edie Aibara, who starred in Hyderabad’s first Ranji Trophy triumph in 1936-37. According to Jaisimha, Aibara’s technique was high class and made batting look so simple. “I saw some amazing strokes and of course, his on-drives were a treat to watch,’’ said Jaisimha long time ago.

The wristy on-drives made people come from far and wide to see ML Jaisimha in action even in local matches, said Jyothi Prasad

Jai simply caressed the ball to the boundary: Saleem

Saleem had even gone to the extent of telling me that Hyderabad batters had an extra talent to play this leg side stroke. The former middle order batter, who had struck a record 210 and 301 in an inter-school final under Jaisimha’s captaincy, had said that Hyderabad had wonderful and stylish batters. “Players like Abbas Ali Baig, Tiger Pataudi, Kenia Jayantilal, Habeeb Ahmed were all in the classical mould but Jai always took the honours. He was stylish and he made the flick or on-drives look so pleasing to the eyes. It just flowed and the on-drives raced like bullets. It was his patent stroke. I always wondered how well he could play, that too, very late. He simply caressed the ball to the boundary,” said Saleem, who himself played this stroke very elegantly.

Azharuddin took over the baton from Jai. When he arrived on the international scene, purists and critics would describe Azhar’s on-drive as pure poetry in motion. After the retirement of Jaisimha, the emergence of Azhar saw the latter blossom into an elegant batter. He too had tremendous timing. He batted with a very light bat and with sheer timing, he could send the ball speeding to the boundary. He could whip the ball from off stump to the mid-wicket boundary. It was an Azhar speciality.

“He was a hard worker. He had a wonderful gift of timing. With supple wrists, he worked the ball superbly. The on-drives and flick came naturally to him. He would even hit the on-drives from the off stump. He had that confidence to do so,” said Saleem.

Somehow it came naturally to me: Azharuddin

Azhar himself had said. “I did practice the stroke a lot of times. Somehow it came naturally to me. It was one of my favourite strokes and I could turn it to the mid-wicket boundary.”

Laxman was very, very special with this stroke. He followed in the footsteps of Jai and Azhar. “Many people would ask me how I could play the leg side strokes so elegantly. I would say in a lighter vein it was because we ate Hyderabad biryani.”

Former left-arm spinner SL Venkatapathy Raju opined that whenever Azharuddin and Laxman played that on-side stroke, it was a purist delight. “Like Azhar, Laxman played the ball very late. I was fortunate to see both of them bat, both from domestic to international cricket. They were magicians with the willow. I saw glimpses of Jai Uncle’s style during my younger days when I played for Marredpally Cricket Club. Even when Jai Uncle played casually in the nets, the shot looked beautiful,” said Raju.

Many people would ask me how I could play the leg side strokes so elegantly. I would say in a lighter vein it was because we ate Hyderabad biryani, said VVS Laxman

Raju went on to add that Azhar and Laxman were touch players. “They had wonderful eye and hand coordination, and they found the gaps with sheer timing. There was never a dull moment whenever they were at the crease as they dominated the bowler not with brute force but with elegance and timing. They would quite often turn the ball to the mid-wicket boundary with a simple turn of the wrists.”

Jai was a king as far as stroke play was concerned: Prasad

Former Hyderabad all-rounder Jyothi Prasad felt that he had the honour of watching all the three – Jai, Azhar and VVS – during their prime. “I would pay money and watch them bat. I was fortunate to play alongside Jai. He was a king as far as stroke play was concerned. He did not have a bat but a magic wand in his hands. The wristy on-drives made people come from far and wide to see Jai in action even in local matches. His handkerchief around his neck, his walk to the crease and then the magic with the bat mesmerized the spectators. That is the reason fans would come in huge numbers just to watch him bat. Imagine there was no television then. He was an artist with the bat,” said Prasad during one of the chats.

The former swing bowler said in the 60s and 70s, he saw two great batters in Jai and Gundappa Vishwanath. “Like Jai, Vishy was a classical and stylish batter. He once played a stroke very late to a delivery which I had thought would hit the stumps and the ball sped to the point or third man boundary. He then looked at me, and with a smile, pointed out that the ball had gone to the boundary. Such was the class of Vishy.”

Prasad further said Azhar and Laxman too had the magical on-drives. “They were wristy and they made batting look beautiful and artful, particularly with their on-side stroke play.”

Ambati Rayudu too played the ball late and executed strokes, both on the front and backfoot

Many also believed that Ambati Rayudu also had the technique and class. Rayudu was unstoppable with the willow. He was an attacking batter but not in the same mould of Jai, Azhar or Laxman. He too played the ball late and executed strokes, both on the front and backfoot. His backfoot punches had the class and elegance. He also played the ball late and would execute the stroke very late.

In recent times, left-hander Tilak Verma has carried the baton of Hyderabad’s tradition of having at least one stylish batter at the international level. We have already seen glimpses of his batting that oozed class and confidence.

Promising Aman Rao stunned the cricket world with stylish knocks against Mumbai and Bengal. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, Aman was full of strokes against Mumbai and then in the Vijay Hazare one-day tournament, Aman Rao revelled with a scintillating 200 not out against the likes of Mohd Shami, Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar, all with international experience. He played late and he was all cynosure with his attractive stroke play.

P Harimohan, chairman of Hyderabad selectors, said he was impressed with Aman’s stroke play. “It is long way to go but he has all the strokes in his armory, and he has the extra time to play the shots late. He has to work hard and work on his consistency. But for sure, he has the talent to blossom into a good player.”