Gundappa Viswanath illustrates a drive to the ZCA (East) boys at the JU complex ground in Salt Lake on Tuesday. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Calcutta: Far from the madding crowd, at the serene setting of the Jadavpur University complex ground in Salt Lake, 20 budding cricketers had a dream date on Tuesday afternoon. One Gundappa Viswanath came visiting to the under-19 Zonal Cricket Academy (East) camp.

Arguably India?s most graceful batsman, Viswanath spent a couple of hours with the boys from Bengal (5), Jharkhand (5), Assam (5), Orissa (4) and Tripura (1) along with their coaches Ashok Malhotra, B. Venkatram and K. Srikant.

Just one session was hardly enough for Viswanath to gauge talent. But he did observe how lucky today?s generation was. ?We couldn?t imagine of the facilities these boys enjoy, they must take advantage,? said Viswanath.

In between watching the boys bat at nets, checking their names with the coaches and jotting down notes, the NCA batting consultant offered tips to the budding Tendulkars.

?I told them to stress on the basics? they must have the right technique,? said Viswanath who thrilled fans the world over with his wristy strokeplay, tackling raw pace and spin with equal ease.

Asked whether the likes of Virender Sehwag are redefining the art of batting, Viswanath said: ?Strokeplay is an extension of defence? anyone with sound technique can play every shot in the book.?

Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara are the two contemporary batsmen Viswanath loves to watch, with the Indian slightly ahead because ?he is technically sounder.?

As far as Indian all-time greats are concerned, Sunil Gavaskar ranked higher than Sachin in Viswanath?s book. ?Firstly, Sunil was an opener. Also, he was an immaculate judge of line and length,? argued Viswanath.

He will be back at the Salt Lake ground Wednesday afternoon for another look at the under-19 bunch.

?You can?t do everything in two days, but I hope some good talents will emerge from these zonal academies,? said Viswanath who will be visiting all five zonal camps which are being held simultaneously in Dharamshala (North), Kanpur (Central), Mumbai (West) and Chennai (South).

The East Zone camp, which got underway on April 14, will end around May 23-24 before a 14-member squad leaves for Bangalore for the inter-ZCA tournament.

Venkatesh Prasad, a bowling consultant who also coached the India under-19 side, is due to visit the Calcutta camp later this month.

Matches in the inter-ZCA meet will be four-day affairs this time (instead of the normal three). The six teams ? five zonal outfits and an NCA under-17 selection ? will be divided into two groups with the two toppers qualifying for the final.