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{{short description|Indian cricketer}}
{{advert}}
{{redirect|Vizzy|Vizzy Hard Seltzer|Molson Coors}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram
| image = File:Maharajkumar of Vizianagram.jpg
| caption = The Maharajkumar of Vizianagram in 1936
| country = India
| fullname = Vijay Ananda Gajapathi Raju
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1905|12|28|df=yes}}
| birth_place = ]{{refn|name=birthplace|group=N|References disagree about Vizzy's place of birth. ''Wisden'', ''ESPNcricinfo''<ref name="Cricinfo"/> and similar sources put it at Benares. According to some Indian sources,<ref>Sources which provide Vizzy's place of birth as Vizianagram include Mihir Bose's ''A History of Indian Cricket'' (p. 547 of the 1990 edition) and the almanacs brought out by the ''Association of Cricket Statisticians and Scorers of India'' (ACSSI) (p. 461 of the 1990–91 edition, for instance).</ref> he was born in ].}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1965|12|2|1905|12|28|df=yes}}
| death_place = ], ], India
| nickname = Vizzy
| batting = Right-handed
| international = true
| internationalspan = 1936–1936
| testdebutdate = 27 June
| testdebutyear = 1936
| testdebutagainst = England
| testcap = 23
| lasttestdate = 18 August
| lasttestyear = 1936
| lasttestagainst = England
| club1 = ]
| year1 = 1934–1935
| columns = 2
| column1 = ]
| matches1 = 3
| runs1 = 33
| bat avg1 = 8.25
| 100s/50s1 = 0/0
| top score1 = 19]
| deliveries1 = 0
| wickets1 = –
| bowl avg1 = –
| fivefor1 = –
| tenfor1 = –
| best bowling1 = –
| catches/stumpings1 = 1/–
| column2 = ]
| matches2 = 47
| runs2 = 1,228
| bat avg2 = 18.60
| 100s/50s2 = 0/5
| top score2 = 77
| deliveries2 = 168
| wickets2 = 4
| bowl avg2 = 34.75
| fivefor2 = 0
| tenfor2 = 0
| best bowling2 = 1/1
| catches/stumpings2 = 18/–
| date = 21 February
| year = 2021
| source = https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/maharajah-of-vizianagram-35930 ESPNcricinfo
}}
] '''Pusapati Vijaya Ananda Gajapathi Raju''' (28 December 1905&nbsp;– 2 December 1965), better known as the '''Maharajkumar of Vizianagram''' or '''''Vizzy''''', was an Indian ]er, cricket administrator and politician.<ref name="Bio">{{Cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/39530.html |title=Maharajkumar of Vizianagram|access-date=12 May 2020 |work=ESPNcricinfo}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/691775 |title=Royalty on the cricket field |work=International Cricket Council |access-date=18 May 2018}}</ref>


== Childhood ==


Vizzy was the second son of ], the ruler of ] in present-day ]. His title ''Maharajkumar'' (prince) comes for this reason. After his father died in 1922 and his elder brother became the king, Vizzy moved to the family estates in ]. He married the eldest daughter of the ruler of the '']'' estate of Kashipur.<ref> from ''Indian Princely States''</ref>
(category)
{{Infobox Historic Cricketer |
flag = India_flag_large.png |
nationality = Indian |
country = India |
country abbrev = IND |
name = Maharajkumar of Vizianagram |
picture = Cricket_no_pic.png |
batting style = Right-hand bat (RHB) |
bowling style = |
tests = 3 |
test runs = 33 |
test bat avg = 8.25 |
test 100s/50s = 0/0 |
test top score = 19* |
test balls = - |
test wickets = - |
test bowl avg = - |
test 5s = - |
test 10s = - |
test best bowling = - |
test catches/stumpings = 1 |
FCs = 47 |
FC runs = 1,228 |
FC bat avg = 18.60 |
FC 100s/50s = 0/5 |
FC top score = 77 |
FC balls = 168 |
FC wickets = 4 |
FC bowl avg = 34.75 |
FC 5s = 0 |
FC 10s = 0 |
FC best bowling = 1/1 |
FC catches/stumpings = 18 |
debut date = 27 June |
debut year = 1936 |
last date = 15 August |
last year = 1936 |
source = http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/0/679/679.html
}}
'''Lt. Col. Sir Maharajkumar Dr. Vijayananda Gajapathi Raju''' better known as the '''Maharajkumar of Vizianagram''' or '''Vizzy''', (] ] &ndash; ] ]), was an ]n ]er and one of the liveliest characters in Indian cricket in the late 1920s and 1930s. He used his great wealth to further his passion for cricket, bringing noted cricketers such as ] and ] over to India.


He attended the ] in ] and ] in England. He excelled at tennis and cricket and was also a hunter.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}
Vizzy was the second son of Vijayarama Gajapathi Raju, the ruler of ]. His title ''Maharajkumar'' (prince) comes for this reason. After his father died in 1922, Vizzy moved to the family estates in ] and married the eldest daughter of the ruler of the '']'' land of Kashipur.{{ref|Genealogy}} Some writers consider that he was merely a ''humble zamindar (landlord)''. {{ref|PPC1}} On the contrary, he was member of a respected family of land-owners and that can be seen by the marital alliances. Vizzy, a younger son married princess of Kashipur (hereditary rulers of Kumaon and very high in list of Hindu families) who was herself, daughter of princess of Nepal and elder sister to the Queen of Kapurthala. Actually, in another cricketing connection, Vizzy would start the love story of his niece, princess of Kapurthala when he would introduce her to his colleague in gloves and pads, Duleep.


== Career ==
He attended the ] in ] and ] in ]. He excelled at ] and cricket in the Princes' College. Vizzy was a fine hunter and claimed to have bagged three hundred tigers.
Vizzy organized his cricket team in 1926 and constructed a ground in his palace compounds. He recruited players from India and abroad. When ] (MCC) cancelled the tour of India in 1930–31 owing to political problems, he organised a team of his own and toured India and ]. He succeeded in drafting ] and ] for the team, a considerable feat as Hobbs had previously refused offers for five such tours. Vizzy brought ] to India a few years later. He brought ] to Benares for training when he was still a high school student. "If Vizzy had been content with being such a cricket sponsor", writes ] in ''A History of Indian Cricket'',<ref>Mihir Bose, ''A History of Indian Cricket'', Andre Deutsch Ltd (1990), p. 67, {{ISBN|0-233-98563-8}}</ref> "like ] in the eighteenth century, or ] in the twentieth, his name would be one of the most revered in Indian cricket. But he was consumed with the ambition to be a great cricketer".


Vizzy organised his cricket team in 1926 and constructed a fine ground in his palace compounds. He recruited players from India and abroad. When ] cancelled the tour of India in 1930-31 owing to political problems, he organised a team of his own and toured India and ]. He succeeded in drafting ] and ] for the team, a considerable feat as Hobbs has previously refused offers for five such tours. Vizzy brought ] to India a few years later. He brought ] to Benares for training when he was still a high school student. The organisation of the 1930-31 tour gave him a standing in Indian cricket that was second only to the ]. {{ref|PPC3}}About this time, Patiala fell out with ], the ] of India, and Vizzy got close with the viceroy. He donated a pavilion named after the viceroy in the newly constructed ] ground in ]. When the national championship was started in 1934, he attempted to donate a gold ''Willingdon trophy'' but Patiala beat him to it with his ]. The organisation of the 1930–31 tour gave Vizzy a standing in Indian cricket that was second only to the ].<ref>Richard Cashman, ''Patrons, players and the crowd'', Orient Longman (1980), {{ISBN|0-86131-212-0}}, pp. 42–43</ref> About this time, Patiala fell out with ], the ] of India, and Vizzy got close with the viceroy. He donated a pavilion named after the viceroy in the newly constructed ] ground in ]. When the national championship was started in 1934, he attempted to donate a gold 'Willingdon trophy' but Patiala beat him to it with his ].


His wealth and contacts brought him great influence in Indian cricket, even though his cricketing abilities were not great. In the early thirties, he offered to pay the board fifty thousand rupees, forty thousand of it for Indian tour of England that happened in 1932. He was appointed as the 'deputy vice captain' for the tour but withdrew for reasons of health and form.{{ref|BM1}} In reality, Vizzy could not stomach playing second (in this case third!) fiddle in the touring squad. Maharaja Porbandar and Maharaja Limbdi donated more than him and Limbdi was a much better player. Chances of Vizzy making to Test side let alone county games was low. He approached 1936 tour as a military campaign with goal of getting the Indian captaincy. His wealth and contacts brought him great influence in Indian cricket, even though his cricketing abilities were not great. In the early thirties, he offered to pay the board fifty thousand rupees, forty thousand of it for the ]. He was appointed as the 'deputy vice captain' for the tour but withdrew ostensibly on reasons of health and form.<ref>Boria Majumdar, ''Twenty two yards to freedom'', Penguin (2004), {{ISBN|0-670-05794-0}}, p. 43, quotes Vizzy's statement.</ref>


=== Captaincy ===
In India cricket started as noble pursuit where every man was selected on his right as a sportsman without attention to caste or creed. In first ever Hindu match, they selected Palvankar balu, an untouchable spinner. Twenty years later, Palwanakar Vithal, brother to illutrious Baloo and now Hindu skipper was limiting his selections to marathis and his castemen. This is where CK Nayudu, already India's best player lead a revolt in favor of including CK Ramaswami in Hindu squad over Vithal's preference. CK was backed in this endevour by young princeling called Vizzy. So the CK, Vizzy team started. They had nothing in common, except for their mother toungue and even that they both used so sparingly that the joke went that Vizzy mistook CK 's telegu greeting at breakfast to be an insult. Ten years plus later, Vizzy who had spoken eloquently at non-favouratism in cricket selection used the bribes and promises of selections to touring side adroitly. He was going up against Maharaja Patiala who had an added quiver in his pocket. Second son Yadavendra was a great batsman. Good enough to be selected on merit and most probable captain for 1936 tour. The prince was plebian enough to allow CK to captain even though Yuvaraj was on the field. This spelled doom for Vizzy's intentions but he presevered and finally the vote was 9 to 8 in his favor and an unwieldy side of 22 players set out for England with no vice-captain and Viceroy's stooge Major Brittan as Manager and chief selector.
He led the ] tour to ] in ], a post that he secured after lobbying and manipulation. The tour was very acrimonious, with team splits, and Vizzy even felt the need to send home one of his strongest players, ]. India lost the series easily, the careers of ] and ] were over, but Vizzy was ]ed by King ]. {{ref|CI1}} He renounced his knighthood in 1947 after India became independent.{{ref|PPC2}} MCC awarded him a membership without putting him through the customary waiting list. It was during this tour that he acquired the nickname ''Vizzy'' which was coined by ], the ], at a lunch given by the Royal Empire Society at Hotel Victoria. {{ref|Bose1}}


Vizzy finally was named the captain of the ], a post that he secured after lobbying and manipulation. Unfortunately, his desperately poor captaincy on the field resulted in even the normally reserved British press commenting on it. Some of the senior players in the squad, including ], ] and ], were critical of Vizzy's playing abilities and captaincy, and the team was split between those who supported and those who criticised the captain.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}
Vizzy fared poorly in a post-tour enquiry especially in his treatment of Amarnath, and took a low profile thereafter for a few years. He started commentating for Ranji matches with AF Talyerkhan and formed a memorable commentary team. He made a comeback as a cricket administrator and was the President of ] from 1954-1957. After becoming the secretary of board, he restored the test career of Lala Amarnath and brought him back as India 's captain redeeming himself for the incident 17 years ago. He successfully promoted ]'s cricketing profile, making ] a centre for Test cricket. {{ref|CI1}}In 1936, he was responsible for downfall of CK Nayudu. In 1953, he requested CK Nayudu to become at 57, the captain of Uttar Pradesh team which CK accepted, playing for UP till 1957. He worked for the development of cricket in South India and was asked to be President of Mysore cricket association.


The low point in the tour occurred during India's match against Minor Counties at ]. ] had been nursing a back injury during the game. Vizzy had Amarnath pad up, but didn't put him in to bat as a succession of other batsmen were sent in ahead of him, which prevented Amarnath from resting his injury. Amarnath was finally put in to bat at the end of the day. Visibly angry after returning to the dressing room, he threw his kit into his bag and muttered in Punjabi, "I know what is transpiring". Vizzy took this as an affront, and conspired with team manager Major Jack Brittain-Jones to have Lala Amarnath sent back from the tour without playing the First Test.<ref name=ci-royalmess>{{cite web| url = http://www.espncricinfo.com/columns/content/story/303898.html| title = A right royal Indian mess}}</ref> It is also alleged that in the First Test against ], Vizzy offered ] a gold watch to run out ].<ref name=ci-royalmess/>
From the 1948-49 series against West Indies, Vizzy became a radio commentator and was the guest commentator for ] during the Indian tour of England in 1959. He was not a particularly good commentator and Cashman {{ref|PPC}} writes that there was a joke among cricketers that Vizzy's success at hunting occurred because he used to play his commentary in the jungle which caused the animals to fall asleep or drop dead.
Cashman 's comment is typical of Britisher of that age who felt insulted by a person of darker skin being respected by Britishers.
I would personaly disagree with this statement, among Indians of that age and genre and his colleagues, Vizzy was a memorable commentator even more than Talyer Khan.


While India lost the series easily, Vizzy was ]ed by King ] in the ].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34307|pages=4669–4670|date=21 July 1936}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34296 |supp=y|pages=3996–3997|date=19 June 1936}}</ref> He was the only cricketer to have a ] bestowed on him while an active Test cricketer, shortly after his Test debut in June of that year, and prior to his last Test in August of that year.<ref>]'s knighthood, though announced on 15 June 1990, was bestowed on him on 4 October 1990, after his final Test match on 10 July 1990.</ref> Vizzy renounced his knighthood in July 1947, explaining in a letter to ] that the knighthood "will not be in keeping with the ideals of Republic of India".<ref>{{cite news |title=Knighthood renounced by well-known Indian cricketer |work=Western Morning News |date=15 July 1947 |access-date=13 November 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000329/19470715/039/0003| via = ] |url-access=subscription }}</ref> MCC awarded him a membership without putting him through the customary waiting list.
Vizzy was the member of the ] from ] in ] in 1960 and 1962.{{ref|AP}} {{ref|eci}} He died aged 59 in ] (now Varanasi), where he also was born.


Vizzy fared poorly in the post-tour enquiry especially in his treatment of Amarnath. In January 1937, the Beaumont Committee report described his captaincy as disastrous. It stated that "he did not understand field placings or bowling changes and never maintained any regular batting order." On team selection, the report stated that "the good players remained idle for weeks together." The report found Amarnath not guilty of any of the charges alleged by Vizzy and Major Jones, and completely exonerated him.<ref name=ci-royalmess/>
{{start box}}

{{succession box|
Vizzy never played another cricket match for India again.{{why|date=October 2022}}
before=]|

title=]|
=== Second career ===
years=]|

after=]
Vizzy maintained a low profile thereafter for almost two decades. He made a comeback as a cricket administrator and was the President of ] from 1954 to 1957. As the vice-president of the BCCI in 1952, he had played a role in bringing back Lala Amarnath as the Indian captain. He successfully promoted ]'s cricketing profile, making ] a centre for Test cricket.<ref name="Cricinfo">{{cricinfo|ref=india/content/player/35930.html}}</ref> On his invitation, C. K. Nayudu, at the age of 61, captained Uttar Pradesh in the 1956–57 season. He worked for the development of cricket in South India and was asked to be President of Mysore cricket association. He was the Vice Chairman of the All India Council of Sports.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Obituary |url=https://magazine.cricketarchive.com/Magazine/1966/vol_47_no_1/32/index.html |magazine=The Cricketer |publication-date=January 1966 |volume=47 |issue=1 |page=31 |via=CricketArchive |access-date=12 June 2024}}</ref>
}}

{{end box}}
From the 1948–49 series against West Indies, Vizzy became a radio commentator and was the guest commentator for ] during the Indian tour of England in 1959. He was not a particularly good commentator. According to Dickie Rutnagur,<ref name="TelegraphIndia">]. . 27 March 2006.</ref> when Vizzy had just finished describing how he had hunted tigers, ] responded: ''Really? I thought you just left a transistor radio on when you were commentating and bored them to death.''<ref name=ci-royalmess/>

He was awarded the ] in 1958.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/biodata_1_12/1409.htm |title=Members Bioprofile |work=164.100.47.132 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527223845/http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/biodata_1_12/1409.htm |archive-date=2014-05-27}}</ref>

Vizzy was the ] in Andhra Pradesh in 1960 and 1962.<ref></ref><ref></ref> The Benares University conferred him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1944.<ref>Indian Express, 26 January 1958</ref> He died on 2 December 1965, just short of his 60th birthday, in ] (now Varanasi), considered holy by Hindus.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

== Legacy ==

* ], an inter-zonal university cricket tournament is named after him.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BCCI keen on restoration of Vizzy Trophy |work=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=2023-09-26 |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/bcci-keen-on-restoration-of-vizzy-trophy-460376}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=N}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}


==References== ==External links==
*{{note|CI1}} {{cricinfo|ref=india/content/player/35930.html}} *{{cricinfo|id=35930}}
{{Indian Test Cricket Captains}}
*{{note|PPC}} Richard Cashman, ''Patrons, players and the crowd'', Orient Longman (1980), p.42, ISBN 0861312120
{{Presidents of BCCI}}
*{{note|PPC1}} ''ibid'', p.40
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1954–59}}
*{{note|PPC2}} ''ibid'', p.33
*{{note|PPC3}} ''ibid'', p.42-43
*{{note|Bose1}} Mihir Bose, ''A History of Indian Cricket'', Andre Deutsch Ltd (1990), p.101, ISBN 0233985638
*{{note|Genealogy}} from ''Indian Princely States''
*{{note|BM1}} Boria Majumdar, ''Twenty two yards to freedom'', Penguin (2004), ISBN 0670057940. Majumdar quotes Vizzy's statement in p.43
*{{note|AP}}
*{{note|eci}}


{{authority control}}
==Further reading==
* The chapter ''Vizzy'' in Mihir Bose's ''History of Indian Cricket'' contains a fascinating account of Vizzy's efforts to become the captain of the 1936 touring team.


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Latest revision as of 12:10, 3 November 2024

Indian cricketer "Vizzy" redirects here. For Vizzy Hard Seltzer, see Molson Coors.

Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram
The Maharajkumar of Vizianagram in 1936
Personal information
Full nameVijay Ananda Gajapathi Raju
Born(1905-12-28)28 December 1905
British India
Died2 December 1965(1965-12-02) (aged 59)
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
NicknameVizzy
BattingRight-handed
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 23)27 June 1936 v England
Last Test18 August 1936 v England
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1934–1935United Provinces
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class
Matches 3 47
Runs scored 33 1,228
Batting average 8.25 18.60
100s/50s 0/0 0/5
Top score 19* 77
Balls bowled 0 168
Wickets – 4
Bowling average – 34.75
5 wickets in innings – 0
10 wickets in match – 0
Best bowling – 1/1
Catches/stumpings 1/– 18/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 21 February 2021

Lt. Col. Pusapati Vijaya Ananda Gajapathi Raju (28 December 1905 – 2 December 1965), better known as the Maharajkumar of Vizianagram or Vizzy, was an Indian cricketer, cricket administrator and politician.

Childhood

Vizzy was the second son of Pusapati Vijaya Rama Gajapathi Raju, the ruler of Vizianagaram in present-day Andhra Pradesh. His title Maharajkumar (prince) comes for this reason. After his father died in 1922 and his elder brother became the king, Vizzy moved to the family estates in Benares. He married the eldest daughter of the ruler of the zamindari estate of Kashipur.

He attended the Mayo College in Ajmer and Haileybury and Imperial Service College in England. He excelled at tennis and cricket and was also a hunter.

Career

Vizzy organized his cricket team in 1926 and constructed a ground in his palace compounds. He recruited players from India and abroad. When Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) cancelled the tour of India in 1930–31 owing to political problems, he organised a team of his own and toured India and Ceylon. He succeeded in drafting Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe for the team, a considerable feat as Hobbs had previously refused offers for five such tours. Vizzy brought Learie Constantine to India a few years later. He brought Mushtaq Ali to Benares for training when he was still a high school student. "If Vizzy had been content with being such a cricket sponsor", writes Mihir Bose in A History of Indian Cricket, "like Sir Horatio Mann in the eighteenth century, or Sir Julien Cahn in the twentieth, his name would be one of the most revered in Indian cricket. But he was consumed with the ambition to be a great cricketer".

The organisation of the 1930–31 tour gave Vizzy a standing in Indian cricket that was second only to the Maharaja of Patiala. About this time, Patiala fell out with Lord Willingdon, the viceroy of India, and Vizzy got close with the viceroy. He donated a pavilion named after the viceroy in the newly constructed Feroz Shah Kotla ground in Delhi. When the national championship was started in 1934, he attempted to donate a gold 'Willingdon trophy' but Patiala beat him to it with his Ranji Trophy.

His wealth and contacts brought him great influence in Indian cricket, even though his cricketing abilities were not great. In the early thirties, he offered to pay the board fifty thousand rupees, forty thousand of it for the Indian tour of England in 1932. He was appointed as the 'deputy vice captain' for the tour but withdrew ostensibly on reasons of health and form.

Captaincy

Vizzy finally was named the captain of the team that toured England in 1936, a post that he secured after lobbying and manipulation. Unfortunately, his desperately poor captaincy on the field resulted in even the normally reserved British press commenting on it. Some of the senior players in the squad, including Lala Amarnath, C. K. Nayudu and Vijay Merchant, were critical of Vizzy's playing abilities and captaincy, and the team was split between those who supported and those who criticised the captain.

The low point in the tour occurred during India's match against Minor Counties at Lord's. Lala Amarnath had been nursing a back injury during the game. Vizzy had Amarnath pad up, but didn't put him in to bat as a succession of other batsmen were sent in ahead of him, which prevented Amarnath from resting his injury. Amarnath was finally put in to bat at the end of the day. Visibly angry after returning to the dressing room, he threw his kit into his bag and muttered in Punjabi, "I know what is transpiring". Vizzy took this as an affront, and conspired with team manager Major Jack Brittain-Jones to have Lala Amarnath sent back from the tour without playing the First Test. It is also alleged that in the First Test against England, Vizzy offered Mushtaq Ali a gold watch to run out Vijay Merchant.

While India lost the series easily, Vizzy was knighted by King Edward VIII in the King's Birthday Honours. He was the only cricketer to have a knighthood bestowed on him while an active Test cricketer, shortly after his Test debut in June of that year, and prior to his last Test in August of that year. Vizzy renounced his knighthood in July 1947, explaining in a letter to Lord Mountbatten that the knighthood "will not be in keeping with the ideals of Republic of India". MCC awarded him a membership without putting him through the customary waiting list.

Vizzy fared poorly in the post-tour enquiry especially in his treatment of Amarnath. In January 1937, the Beaumont Committee report described his captaincy as disastrous. It stated that "he did not understand field placings or bowling changes and never maintained any regular batting order." On team selection, the report stated that "the good players remained idle for weeks together." The report found Amarnath not guilty of any of the charges alleged by Vizzy and Major Jones, and completely exonerated him.

Vizzy never played another cricket match for India again.

Second career

Vizzy maintained a low profile thereafter for almost two decades. He made a comeback as a cricket administrator and was the President of BCCI from 1954 to 1957. As the vice-president of the BCCI in 1952, he had played a role in bringing back Lala Amarnath as the Indian captain. He successfully promoted Uttar Pradesh's cricketing profile, making Kanpur a centre for Test cricket. On his invitation, C. K. Nayudu, at the age of 61, captained Uttar Pradesh in the 1956–57 season. He worked for the development of cricket in South India and was asked to be President of Mysore cricket association. He was the Vice Chairman of the All India Council of Sports.

From the 1948–49 series against West Indies, Vizzy became a radio commentator and was the guest commentator for BBC during the Indian tour of England in 1959. He was not a particularly good commentator. According to Dickie Rutnagur, when Vizzy had just finished describing how he had hunted tigers, Rohan Kanhai responded: Really? I thought you just left a transistor radio on when you were commentating and bored them to death.

He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1958.

Vizzy was the member of the Lok Sabha from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh in 1960 and 1962. The Benares University conferred him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1944. He died on 2 December 1965, just short of his 60th birthday, in Benares (now Varanasi), considered holy by Hindus.

Legacy

  • Vizzy Trophy, an inter-zonal university cricket tournament is named after him.

Notes

  1. References disagree about Vizzy's place of birth. Wisden, ESPNcricinfo and similar sources put it at Benares. According to some Indian sources, he was born in Vizianagaram.

References

  1. ^ Maharajkumar of Vizianagram at ESPNcricinfo
  2. Sources which provide Vizzy's place of birth as Vizianagram include Mihir Bose's A History of Indian Cricket (p. 547 of the 1990 edition) and the almanacs brought out by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Scorers of India (ACSSI) (p. 461 of the 1990–91 edition, for instance).
  3. "Maharajkumar of Vizianagram". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  4. "Royalty on the cricket field". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  5. Vizzy's genealogy from Indian Princely States
  6. Mihir Bose, A History of Indian Cricket, Andre Deutsch Ltd (1990), p. 67, ISBN 0-233-98563-8
  7. Richard Cashman, Patrons, players and the crowd, Orient Longman (1980), ISBN 0-86131-212-0, pp. 42–43
  8. Boria Majumdar, Twenty two yards to freedom, Penguin (2004), ISBN 0-670-05794-0, p. 43, quotes Vizzy's statement.
  9. ^ "A right royal Indian mess".
  10. "No. 34307". The London Gazette. 21 July 1936. pp. 4669–4670.
  11. "No. 34296". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 June 1936. pp. 3996–3997.
  12. Sir Richard Hadlee's knighthood, though announced on 15 June 1990, was bestowed on him on 4 October 1990, after his final Test match on 10 July 1990.
  13. "Knighthood renounced by well-known Indian cricketer". Western Morning News. 15 July 1947. Retrieved 13 November 2014 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. "Obituary". The Cricketer. Vol. 47, no. 1. January 1966. p. 31. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via CricketArchive.
  15. The Telegraph. Gentlemen & their game. 27 March 2006.
  16. "Members Bioprofile". 164.100.47.132. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014.
  17. Members of Parliament from Andhra Pradesh in 1962
  18. Results of the by-elections to the Indian states and parliament
  19. Indian Express, 26 January 1958
  20. "BCCI keen on restoration of Vizzy Trophy". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 September 2023.

External links

India Test cricket captains
Italics denote deputised captaincy
Presidents of the BCCI
1928–1950
1951–1975
1976–2000
2001–present
Padma Bhushan award recipients (1954–1959)
1954
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1958
1959
# Posthumous conferral
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