Know Viv Richard, one of the most destructive batsmen of all time

New Delhi: Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born 7 March 1952), is a former West Indian cricketer. Popularly known as Viv or king Viv, he is almost unequivocally regarded as the greatest One Day International (ODI) batsman of all time, as also the most destructive and feared ever, and as one of the very greatest to have ever played the game.His fearless and aggressive style of play, and relaxed but determined demeanor made him a great crowd favourite and an intimidating prospect for opposition bowlers all over the world. The word "swagger" is frequently used to describe his batting style. His batting often completely dominated opposing bowlers. He had the ability to drive good-length balls from outside off-stump through midwicket, his trademark shot, and was one of the great exponents of the hook shot.Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Jack Hobbs and Shane Warne.In February 2002, Richards was judged by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack to have played the best ODI innings of all time. In December 2002, he was chosen by Wisden as the greatest ODI batsman of all time, as well as the third greatest Test batsman of all time, after Sir Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar.Richards was a very powerful right-handed batsman with an extremely attacking style, besides being an excellent fielder, and a handy off-spin bowler. He is often regarded as the most devastating batsman that ever played the game by cricketers, journalists, fans and others alike, Several prominent personalities including former cricketer and legendary fast bowler and all-rounder Imran Khan and noted writer John Birmingham are of the opinion that Richards was the best ever batsman against genuine fast bowling. He played his entire 17-year career without a helmet. Wasim Akram rates Richards the greatest batsman he ever bowled to.The ICC came out with their rankings for the best batsmen and bowlers in the history of the game for both the longer and shorter versions. Richards and his wife Miriam have two children: Matara, who currently lives in Toronto, Canada, and Mali, who has also played first-class cricket.Richards has a relationship with Indian actress Neena Gupta with whom he has a daughter, Masaba Gupta.