Wouldn’t mind dying playing something that I love, says Sir Viv Richards
Sir Viv Richards has stated that it was a privilege playing the great game of cricket and he wouldn't mind dying playing something he loved ever since he was a kid. Richards was answering a query by Shane Watson, who enquired how it felt to play cricket without any headgear for protection.
Of all the people ever graced the cricket field, Sir Viv Richards remains the king for his unmatched grace and swagger that sometimes belied the normal belief. Without a helmet, he played some of the most dangerous bowlers of his time, leaving a mark on the sport as one of the greatest of all time. When he was quizzed by Shane Watson about the same, if he would have preferred a helmet, Richards answered in negative and stated that he wouldn’t mind dying playing the game.
“The passion for the game I felt was such that I wouldn’t mind dying playing something that I love. If this is what I chose and I go down here, what better way is there to go. I have looked at other sportsmen and women who I have a lot of respect for doing it to an extreme level,” Richards told former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson in a podcast.
Richards managed to score 8540 runs and 6721 runs in 121 Tests and 187 ODIs respectively and by many, he is regarded as the coolest cricketer ever to play the game. The likes of Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar hailed the West Indies legend as their inspiration. Totally overawed by his presence, Richards had a rather brilliant answer for how he finds the zeal to work hard and harder,
“I see a guy driving a Formula 1 racing car, what could be more dangerous than that?” said Richards, to which Watson quipped: “Facing 150kph without a helmet?”