Current series reminiscent of 1978 tour: Viswanath

Former India captain Gundappa Viswanath, who toured Pakistan on the first goodwill tour in 1978, fondly remembers the series for a string of dinners and functions, virtually every night.

Former India captain Gundappa Viswanath, who toured Pakistan on the first goodwill tour in 1978, fondly remembers the series for a string of dinners and functions, virtually every night.

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"Most of the time we had functions and dinners hosted by regional associations," Viswanath, who is in Pakistan to watch the ongoing cricket series, told IANS.

"There would be at least 200-300 people at some of those parties and functions," recalled the master batsman of the tour, which had then taken place after 18 years' hiatus due to political reasons.

India lost the three-Test series 0-2 and also the one-day series.

Now an International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee, Viswanath, however, refrained from commenting on the current series and the Indian team as ICC rules prohibit it.

Comparing the public following of the game 25 years ago and the ongoing series, Viswanath said the crowds were there, "but they were a bit

hostile at the time" unlike now.

"You can see the difference in the one-dayers. The stands are packed everywhere with spectators from both countries sitting together, most probably having flags of both countries in their hands," he said, of the one-day Internationals preceding the three Tests.

"That's a tremendous achievement over what I had seen earlier (in 1978)."

Security was provided to the Indians on that tour as well, recalls Viswanath.

"Security was there, but not much. We never moved around on our own, but would take the security guards along," he said. "But when we had to go to a friend's or a player's house, we did not need any."

Much like the warm reception the team got in all five cities it has played on the current tour, the players were treated as special guests 25 years ago as well, Viswanath recounts.

"Pakistanis are known for their hospitality. The last time also, we enjoyed their hospitality; now it is much more so -- probably because they are playing here after a long time," he said.

So was there a pressure on the players?

"It was not pressure as such - before the series the pressure is there, especially if you are playing after long," said Viswanath, well known for his gentlemanly behaviour on the field.

"But once you get on with the game, the pressure automatically wears off and you face the reality of the game," he said.

Viswanath allays fears that the Indians' performance might have been affected by the goodwill factor in 1978 as they had lost badly to the home side.

"Nobody told us to play below our standard or anything. Certainly, we played how we should have played Test cricket," said Viswanath. "We never got any instructions from anybody saying you have to play below your standards."

The 1978 tour also coincided with the advent of the Packer's Super Series in Australia, when matches were organised by business tycoon Kerry Packer in which the world's top cricketers played in return for huge sums of money.

Since a Packer agent had also approached a few Indians in Pakistan, some experts feel the distraction might have had a bearing on the team's performance.

Viswanath, who is a vice-president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association and chairman of Karnataka cricket academy, said he did not think that the Packer factor affected the series' result.

"Not to the team as such, but certainly we knew that such a thing was happening," he said. "I am not sure how many they got to -- certainly not me. Probably, yes, there was a talk."

Eventually, the Indian cricket board told the players that if they signed up with Packer, they would never represent India.

And India was the only country that was not represented in the first one-day matches played under floodlights - which eventually changed the game forever.