Rahul Dravid and G.R. Vishwanath are among the 12 Karnataka players picked by former India wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani in his personal list of the state’s greatest ever in Test cricket.
In his team, fast bowlers Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad would not find themselves playing in tandem in a match, but both have been included in the 12-member list.
“I wouldn’t dream of not playing two legends Pras (E.A.S. Prasanna) and Chandra (Bhagwat Chandrashekhar) in tandem in a match and hence will have no other option but to play either of the two fast bowlers (Sri or Venky) in a match,” he said on the occasion of the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Karnataka State Cricket Association here on Monday.
Kirmani’s greatest Test XI hailing from Karnataka has Venkataraman Subramanya as captain while he picked himself as the wicket-keeper. On Subramanya, Kirmani who played 88 Tests and claimed 160 catches and 38 stumpings, said, “If he wouldn’t have migrated overseas, I have no doubts he would have captained the India Test side.”
Subramanya, a tall aggressive middle-order batsman and more than a useful legspin bowler, played Tests between 1965 and 1968.