The pocket-sized dynamites: 10 shortest cricketers of all time

7) Gundappa Vishwanath

Height - 5 feet 4 inches

If Sunil Gavaskar was the master blaster for India in the 70s, then Gundappa Vishwanath was the erudite artist. With a late-cut to die for, Vishwanath’s delightful wrist-work made his batting a treat to eye. When in full flow, Vishwanath’s batting was poetry in motion. He was equally good against both pace and spin, and had the ability to use his feet against the spinners with great dexterity.

Vishwanath thrived on situations where his team’s back was against the wall, and often single-handedly won games for India. His match winning innings of 97 against a fiery West Indies attack in Madras in 1974-75 and another innings of 124 against West Indies at the same venue in 1978-79, are some of his best knocks. Apart from his batting triumphs, Vishwanath was a gentleman who played the game in its true spirit.