Book launch celebrating V.V. Kumar’s 90th birthday with anecdotes, tributes, and memories from former cricketers and personalities.

It was an evening of celebration, filled with fascinating anecdotes and a trip down memory lane during the launch of a book on former India leg-spinner V.V. Kumar to commemorate his 90th birthday.

The book titled Celebrating V.V. Kumar @ 90 features articles by former cricketers and other eminent personalities, including G.R. Viswanath and S. Venkataraghavan. It was released by C.D. Gopinath, the only surviving member of India’s first Test win in 1952 against England, with Kumar receiving the first copy.

“He and I played together for several years. He was a good team man. He was not only very popular but cheerful and made a lot of people laugh,” said Gopinath. “His bowling was phenomenal. He had so much control over his bowling that he could do anything he wanted. The way he was dropped was unfair. He would have been highly successful and won a lot of matches for India,” he added.

Kumar scalped a five-for on debut against Pakistan in New Delhi (1961) but played just one more Test, versus England in Mumbai.

N. Ram, Director, The Hindu Group, who has written a chapter in the book, highlighted Kumar’s immense contribution to domestic cricket despite being overlooked by the selectors. In 129 First Class matches, Kumar scalped 599 wickets and was the first to go past the 400-wicket mark in the Ranji Trophy.

Speaking on the occasion, Kumar expressed his gratitude for the friendships he had forged during his cricketing days.

“I am grateful for this emotional meeting. I owe a lot to Gopinath, who was my captain and mentor. I have great respect and affection for my captain, who gave me the confidence in my first game against Bombay (Mumbai),” said Kumar.

“The next best thing that happened to me was always the company that I had during my cricketing days, whether it was juniors or State matches. The team moved as one, and the days were enjoyed.”

The idea for the book originated from a conversation among former Tamil Nadu cricketers V. Krishnaswamy, P. Mukund, A.G. Satvinder Singh, and P.R. Ramakrishnan, and was compiled by Partab Ramchand.