Attorney Albert Baldeo on Rohan Kanhai
"Rohan Kanhai, my boyhood hero, was undoubtedly the most extraordinary batsman the West Indies has ever produced, one who could eviserate any attack in the world when he chose to. Whereas other batsmen could wear down an attack, Kanhai would dissect it with clinical precision. There was beauty in his craft, so much different in the method of annihilation. Poetry, rather than prose, ballet, rather than dance. Artistry, rather than sheer power, although this never compromised the force with which he hit the ball. He glided in riveting strokeplay, batting with the artistry of a virtuoso. He did not have the superlative statistics nor the sheer all-round cricketing genius of Garfield Sobers, the awesome power of Viv Richards, Clyde Walcott, Clive Lloyd or Gordon Greenidge, the classical poise of Sachin Tendulkar or Frank Worrell, or the steadfastness of George Headley or Steve Waugh. Nor did he have the impregnable technique or patience of Geoff Boycott, Jack Hobbs or Sunil Gavaskar, the insatiable appetite for runs like Don Bradman, the grace of Greg Chappell or Zaheer Abbas or the oriental calm of Majid Khan. Nor did his interaction with the game of cricket spawn changes to the socio-political structures of society and effect reforms of a radical nature as Sir Learie Constantine’s and Sir W.G. Grace’s did. Nor did he assume superstar status like Brian Lara or Sachin Tendulkar. Nor did he achieve batting statistics to propel him to the type of immortality attained by Sir Don Bradman, Gavaskar or Tendulkar. Yet, he possessed a combination of batting prowess and sportsmanship above and beyond the reach of all of these great players to such an unparalleled degree that has never been seen in the game of cricket and perhaps will never be equaled. His arrival to the wicket heralded both hush and expectancy. Bars closed as all looked to the drama that was about to unfold before a Kanhai innings.
His creative genius surpassed any other batsman in the game, and his flamboyance was spellbinding. There were times in his batting artistry where he touched heights of batsmanship beyond the reach of any batsman, such as in the execution of his unique “roti shot,†or falling hook shot, sometimes played off the eyebrows, the half-pull, half-sweep style stroke, the flick off the toes which dissected the on-side field, the reverse sweep off the leg stump or the late cut off the off stump. Cricketers like him invented and pioneered many innovations to the game which have made it richer and dearer to spectators. As commentators would say, “many batsmen may enter the same cathedral of batsmanship with Kanhai, but will not be allowed to sit in the same pue.†In Michael Manley’s book, “A History of West Indian cricket,†Kanhai is photographed sitting with George Headley and Everton Weekes, and that is how they may sit in the front pue of that proverbial cathedral.
In his book “Idols,†Sunil Gavaskar, whose gigantic batting feats have not only eugolized him in calypso but also immortalized him in a manner second to none, said this of Kanhai: “Rohan Kanhai is quite simply the greatest batsman I have ever seen. What does one write about one's hero, one's idol, one for whom there is so much admiration? To say that he is the greatest batsman I have ever seen so far is to put it mildly. A controversial statement perhaps, considering that there have been so many outstanding batsmen, and some great batsmen that I have played with and against. But, having seen them all, there is no doubt in my mind that Rohan Kanhai was quite simply the best of them all. Sir Gary Sobers came quite close to being the best batsman, but he was the greatest cricketer ever, and could do just about anything. But as a batsman, I thought Rohan Kanhai was just a little bit better." In his book “Living For Cricket,†the revered Clive Lloyd definitively said that he regarded Kanhai as “the finest batsman Guyana has produced.â€
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