Thanks a lot, Vijaya Sir

Hyderabad cricket will not be the same any more. There was grief all around when news spread about the passing away of Vijaya Paul, a copybook batsman who established himself as an outstanding player of spin and swing.

A man whose passion for the Gentleman’s game was such that he ranks among the earliest of Hyderabad players to turn a coach.

The former Hyderabad and South Zone cricketer has produced players of the caliber of Ambati Rayudu and Pragyan Ojha.

For a man who never missed a single day at the CAL Public School grounds where he coached youngsters, the last few months for his wards and parents have been difficult.

He was in and out of hospital in the last few months but still managed to go to the ground defying everyone, for cricket was his life and life cricket.

Few know that Vijaya Paul stepped down from Ranji contention of his own accord in 1983 to make way for Mohd Azharuddin.

Such was his talent that even after retiring from Ranji, he went on to score 19 centuries for Andhra Bank in the A Division league.

A master tactician that he was as a batsman he was probably the best coach, one who ‘taught’ the wards on going about the art of hanging on in the middle and building an innings.

As a thinking coach, he was blessed with the rare gift of spotting a batsman’s strengths and weakness in a matter of a few minutes.

Sounder Rajan, a Postal Department cricketer who teamed up with Vijaya Paul and assisted him for 15 years says, “There cannot be a better batting coach in Hyderabad.

He has nurtured at least 50 junior and senior players who represented Hyderabad in U-14, U-16, U-19 and Ranji Trophy.”

A stickler for discipline, while most coaches in the city do not mind wearing coloured clothes, for him it was a big No.

He always stressed on playing with a straight bat and believed that one could score runs in any format if the basics are strong.

Anyone turning up with his collar up a la ML Jaisimha or Azharuddin, received a good lecture. “First play good cricket,” was his constant jibe.

The last time I met him was in an ‘A’ division league match against Yadav Dairy for whom he was the coach.
Playing for Future Stars, I had picked up four wickets.

At the end of the match, Paul Sir patted me on my back. That pat means so much to me for Vijaya Paul never appreciated just for the heck of it.