Rahul Dravid and G R Vishwanath are among the 12 Karnataka players picked by former Indian 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 (EAS 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 told PTI on the occasion of Platinum Jubilee Celebrations of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) here today.

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 Indian Test side.”

Subramanya, a tall aggressive middle-order batsman and more than a useful legspin bowler, played Tests between 1965 and 1968.

Against West Indies at Madras in 1966-67, Subramanya hit a breezy 61, treating Wesly Hall and Charlie Griffith with disdain. In all, he played nine Tests and scored 263 runs in fifteen innings with 75 as his career highest.

On G R Vishwanath, Kirmani said he was a legend in the making right from his early days when he played for his state and the country.

“He has a rare distinction of scoring debut centuries in Test and Ranji. He was brilliant, a legend in the making,” he said.

In fact Vishwanath, who scored 14 Test centuries, considers his second innings knock of 137 on his Test debut at Kanpur in 1969-70 against Bill Lawry’s Australia as his best.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home / by PTI / Bangalore – Monday, August 12th, 2013