Former India captain Nari Contractor described ex-stumper Budhi Kunderan, who passed away in Scotland on Friday, as a flamboyant cricketer while another ex-captain Ajit Wadekar called him as an absolute team man.
"The news has come as a shock to me. I have been in touch with him and the last time I spoke to him, about a month ago, he said he was undergoing a new type of treatment after which he hoped to get better," said Contractor reacting to Kunderan's death.
Kunderan, 66 was suffering from lung cancer.
The Mangalore-born Kunderan, played 18 Tests mostly under the captaincy of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, is survived by wife, two sons and a daughter-in-law.
"Kunderan was a very flamboyant cricketer with a graceful approach to the game. That's the way he played the game," Contractor said.
"Yes, it was unfortunate that his career coincided with Farokh Engineer's. But remember the 1963-64 series against England when he replaced Farokh (behind the wickets) and Farokh had to sit out," Contractor recalled.
"He was a briliant fielder too," the ex-Test opener said but refused to compare Kunderan or any other cricketer of those days with the present lot.
"I don't want to compare cricketers of those days to the present ones. We had no protective equipment (except gloves and pads) while the current lot of cricketers are covered from head to toe," he said.
Wadekar described Kunderan as "a thorough team man" and recalled his Test debut against Gary Sobers' West Indies when the departed cricketer consoled him after his first innings failure at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
"We had a splendid partnership going in local cricket for the State Bank of India - I, (the late) Baloo Gupte, Kunderan, (the late) "Jimmy" (Sharad) Diwadkar and Hanumant Singh," Wadekar remembered.
"Kunderan was slightly senior to me as far as international cricket was concerned. But we played together later for India. He was a team man to the core, a dashing opening batsman," the former Test skipper said.
"When I failed in my first Test innings he came and told me not to worry and said I had a long Test career ahead," the erstwhile elegant left handed batsman said.
Wadekar also recalled with a chuckle the occasion when Kunderan opened the Indian bowling attack in a Test in England in 1967.
"Those days anybody could open the Indian bowling. We depended a lot on spin bowling, perhaps too much," he said while at the same time taking a dig at the current scenario when India depend more on pace bowling, especially overseas.
"Now we depend too little on spin. The scenarios, from then to now, are poles apart," Wadekar said with a hearty laugh.
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