Viv Richards Exclusive: Was Surprised to See India Struggling vs Spin in Sri Lanka

No list of the best batsmen of all time in international cricket can ever be complete without the name Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards on it.

The man who re-defined classy power-hitting, Sir Viv Richards spoke to NDTV about India's shock loss to Sri Lanka in Galle and the batsmen who struggled against Rangana Herath's spin.

In an exclusive interview, Richards said, "Throughout the match itself, it suggested that there were a few things wanting and one of the things that surprised me with 170-odd runs to get in the last innings, and to some degree I can give evidence that India and some of the Indian batsmen are some of the best players of spin bowling. They were certainly found wanting in that particular last innings. It did surprise me because I thought, even though it looked a modest total, it looked pretty hard the way they finished it in the end."

India's misadventures with spin is not really a new story. Off-late they have suffered at the hands of Moeen Ali, Nathan Lyon and now Rangana Herath. Team India though have vowed to continue playing fearless cricket. The man at the helm of affairs, captain Virat Kohli though will be hoping the aggressive brand of cricket gets him his first Test win as skipper soon. In fact, Virat's brand of aggressive cricket was endorsed by Richards, who said, "Virat, from what I have seen from the other side of the fence, he has this passion for aggression and nothing is wrong with that."

Richards though has rued the fact that Kohli's aggression wasn't supported well enough on India's tour of Australia in 2014-15. Remember the Adelaide Test? Where Kohli, as stand-in skipper, scored centuries in both innings. India came within 48 runs of pulling off a famous win. Sir Viv told NDTV, "It's a pity that the Indian team didn't back him (Virat) the way he batted. The way in which he came out towards the end, I think he came out smelling sweet because he allowed his bat to do the talking and it is just quite a pity that India just didn't respond to the way he batted. But I have always liked his style."

In the first Test vs Sri Lanka, the one thing that hurt India a lot were umpiring blunders. With no DRS, the visitors perhaps had only themselves to blame. Richards told NDTV, "If it (DRS) was in play, and you guys basically endorsed it in Galle, I guess you would have won that match."

It has been many years since fans saw Sir Viv on the field, but the legend has found other avenues to showcase his many talents. Richards recently featured in a video with Jon Farriss,drummer of Australian rock band INXS. The video has already got over 40,000 views on YouTube. He may be 63 years old, but King Viv still has the legendary swagger.