Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman
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Contents |
Farewell from international cricket
[ From the archives of the Times of India]
VVS Laxman quits, sparks controversy
Solomon S Kumar
Batting icon V V S Laxman surprised many by quitting international cricket with immediate effect. There were hints from sources that he was unsettled by recent articles by some former players questioning his continuation in the team. What was more surprising was his comment that he could not get in touch with skipper M S Dhoni to let him know of the decision. Following Laxman’s shock announcement, former captain Sourav Ganguly also came out blaming Dhoni and expressed surprise that the captain could not be reached. “It is unfortunate because I think a captain should be there for his players 24x7. It is quite obvious Laxman doesn’t enjoy his skipper’s support.”
2001: Laxman's 281 in Eden Test saved Ganguly's career
December 12, 2018: The Times of India
Stylish batsman VVS Laxman's epic 281 may be part of the cricketing folklore but former India skipper Sourav Ganguly said the knock actually 'saved his career'.
Shaken by the match-fixing scandal, Indian cricket was going through a turbulent time at the start of the 21st century when Sourav Ganguly took charge of the team.
Trailing 0-1 after their loss in Mumbai, India were looking down the barrel and were asked to follow-on in the Kolkata Test but Laxman's 281 and Rahul Dravid's 180 in a 376-run fifth-wicket partnership set the tone for an epic 171-run win.
The win also halted the Steve Waugh-led side's record 16 consecutive victories, giving a new direction to the Ganguly-led Team India.
So when the Hyderabadi batsman chose to write his autobiography, '281 and Beyond', the title of the book was a no-brainer.
But Ganguly was a tad disappointed with the title, he said in a lighter vein.
"I also texted him a month back but he didn't reply," Ganguly said at the Kolkata leg of the book launch.
"I told him it was not the apt title... It should have been '281 and beyond and that saved Sourav Ganguly's career'," the former India captain said.
"I strongly opposed the title because if he had not scored 281, we would have lost the Test and I would not have been captain again," a modest Ganguly said.
Despite having a successful career in Tests, Laxman's limited overs career failed to take off as he played only 86 ODIs, and was dropped from the South-Africa-bound India's 2003 World Cup.
Reflecting on the omission, Ganguly said "maybe it was a mistake".
"Laxman was a player who could have done well in all formats. In hindsight, maybe it was a mistake. As a captain, you take decisions and things happen which may not be right or wrong," Ganguly said.
Describing this as the darkest phase of his career, Laxman said he had actually contemplated quitting when he went for a vacation with his friends in the USA.
"But then I realised, that I did not become a cricketer to play the World Cup but it was for the sport. I was being childish.
"I told myself 'I was among the lucky few who got this opportunity and I should not let it go'," Laxman recalled.
He scored a superb 102 against Australia in Gwalior and followed it up with three more centuries in the triangular series, involving Australia and Zimbabwe.
Sharing more anecdotes from the epic Kolkata Test, Laxman said the Eden match taught them life lessons.
"Everyone contributed in the Test. Even substitute Hemang Badani took a blinder fielding at forward short leg," Laxman said.
"That aggression in the team was infectious. We felt for each other in the team."
The programme was also attended by his former India pace spearhead Zaheer Khan.
Last Test in Perth, 2011: BCCI sources
[ From the archives of the Times of India]
Indranil Basu TNN
VVS Laxman’s nine-ball duck in Perth may well have been his last Test innings. It’s ironical that Laxman, who built his formidable batting reputation against the Australian bowling attack over the past decade or so, now finds his playing career running out of time Down Under.
Laxman’s struggles in Australia this time around have reflected on the performance of the Indian cricket team, which marked Day Two of the Perth Test with another batting collapse and the prospect of losing the third Test inside three days.
With MS Dhoni and Co’s reputation in tatters and a whitewash looming in Australia to follow the one in England earlier this year, the elegant Hyderabadi, who is 37 years old, may become the first of the veteran batting machines to be eased out, sources told TOI.
The wristy strokeplayer who first terrified the Aussies with the epic 281 at the Eden Gardens in 2001 — a precursor to many memorable knocks against the dominating cricketers from Down Under, both at home and away — may not even get the luxury of a farewell Test which his reputation warrants, TOI has learned.
Laxman has been ordinary this time in Australia, averaging only 17 from 6 innings. His overall record in Australia, in comparison, is an extremely impressive 50.65 with 6 hundreds from 28 Tests. Laxman also had a poor run in England last year, averaging only 22.75 from 4 matches. Despite the disappointing show in England, he was picked for Australia purely on reputation.
In 2009, he scored 471 runs in six Tests at an average of 67.28. In 2010 too, he scored 939 runs at average of 67.07 However, last year, Laxman started slipping and scored just 773 runs in 12 Tests at 40.68 The slide has continued in the ongoing series with the classy batsman scoring just 102 runs in 3 Tests at a poor 17.00
OVERALL RECORD
Tests: 133; Runs: 8728; Highest: 281; Avg: 46.17; Centuries: 17; Half centuries: 56
Farewell from test cricket
[ From the archives of the Times of India]
THE TEST ENDS FOR LAXMAN
Sachin Tendulkar
I think VVS Laxman had a brilliant career. While outsiders know only VVS the player, the guys who played alongside him also know VVS the human being. He’s a brilliant person, very soft spoken, very dedicated, focused and determined.
If one has to speak of his talent, what can I say about those drives, those flicks. Half the world thinks he’s going to play a cover drive and he decides to play an on-drive. This is God’s gift to him and I have to say he’s managed to look after his gift rather well. He’s always respected the game and would not take anything for granted. That is so important to be a successful sportsman. I feel, on the whole, that he played some important innings at important stages for India. There is one aspect of his game that wasn’t discussed much and that was his catching ability. He had such beautiful hands and he was a very safe fielder. It’s going to be tough to replace him in the slip cordon, where we have lost Rahul (Dravid) too. They were a couple of all-time greats in that region and to replace them we are going to need someone to be there for an equally long period of time. But there are good catchers in the team and while it is going to be challenging to fill that gap, that is how the game has always moved forward. Surely we will find someone.
With VVS, it is definitely going to be difficult for us to not to have him in the team. His absence in the dressing room is going to be difficult to deal with and will take some getting used to. A special player will always be a special player and we will continue to think of him on every occasion.
I can definitely say I will miss him in the dressing room. I have had some wonderful partnerships with him and thoroughly enjoyed batting with him. He was someone who rotated strike well and played some great shots.
We spoke a lot about cricket; discussed the game quite a bit. It was fun to have him around and talk not just cricket but general stuff too. We shared jokes, laughed a lot together. I will cherish all those things. While he may not be around on the field, we are very good friends off it and we will continue to meet somewhere and that will be times to look forward to. The Indian team will certainly miss him.
(As told to Satish Viswanathan)
TESTS
The 281 against Australia at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in March 2001 was the highest individual Test innings by an Indian at that time.
Hit 176 runs through boundaries (44 fours) during the same knock: the highest by a batsman against Australia in Tests.
Hit 85 fours in the same series in 2001, a record by any batsman in a three-Test series against Australia.
Averaged 209 in the three-Test series against Pakistan in 2007-08 at home
One of seven Indian batsmen to score 3,000-plus runs and average 50-plus at home
One of only four Indian batsmen to manage 5,000-plus runs away from home.
Aggregated 1,217 runs at an average of 110.63, including five hundreds and three fifties, in 10 Tests (15 innings) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Boasts 135 catches too, the second-highest by an Indian in Tests after Rahul Dravid’s 210.
Notched up some record partnerships like the 353 for the fourth wicket with Sachin Tendulkar against Australia at Sydney in Jan 2004; 376 for the fifth wicket with Rahul Dravid against Australia at Kolkata in March 2001 and 259 (unbroken) for the seventh wicket with MS Dhoni against South Africa in Kolkata in Feb 2010.
Bagged six Man of the Match awards: two each against Australia and the West Indies and one each against Sri Lanka and South Africa.
ODIs
Only Indian to register three hundreds in Australia: 131 against Zimbabwe at Adelaide on Jan 24, 2004; 106 not out against Australia in Sydney on Jan 22, 2004 and 103 not out against Australia in Brisbane on Jan 18, 2004. Put on 213 with Yuvraj Singh for the fourth wicket in Sydney in Jan 22, 2004, India’s highest partnership against Australia in ODIs. Got four Man of the Match awards — one each against Sri Lanka, Australia, Zimbabwe and Pakistan. —Rajesh Kumar
Contribution
[ From the archives of the Times of India]
It is obvious that VVS does not enjoy Dhoni’s support
Sourav Ganguly
VVS Laxman’s decision to retire with immediate effect is a bold one. He has always served Indian cricket selflessly, and by quitting before the start of the forthcoming series against New Zealand, he quit on his own terms. I have always maintained that age does not matter, performance does. It was very uncharitable of the selectors to have picked him for just two Tests against New Zealand, making it look like his farewell series. It simply did not make any sense. He is a legend of the game and remain one. I see no method in the madness of our selectors, who have retained virtually the entire squad that flopped in England and Australia and asked questions only of Laxman. Clearly the message was lost in translation, if the selectors had tried to convey one in the first place. If I know Laxman, he must have been hurt by all this. The fact that Laxman had been training hard at the NCA showed that he was obviously preparing himself to play the whole season. That is how all top cricketers approach a new season. It was a tough decision for Laxman. Probably tougher than mine. Hats off to him. I heard Laxman saying at the press conference that he found it difficult to reach skipper MS Dhoni. It is unfortunate because I think a captain should always be available to his players 24x7. It is quite obvious that Laxman doesn’t enjoy his skipper’s support. I will remember Laxman as one of India’s finest batsmen and a fun-loving character. He and Zaheer are always pulling each other’s legs on fitness issues. He is also not the most organised player in the dressing room. He takes his own sweet time even while getting ready to bat. And in the middle, he bats at his own pace. But what a batsman! A superb timer of the ball, Laxman excelled in piercing the field with his wristy elegance. In many ways, Rahul Dravid, with whom Laxman shared many big partnerships, complemented each other. Throughout my Test career, we batted at No. 5 and No. 6 and it was good fun. (As told to Sumit Mukherjee)
‘DROPPING HIM FROM ‘03 WC SQUAD A MISTAKE’
Sourav Ganguly has now come on record as saying he believes dropping VVS Laxman from the 2003 World Cup squad was a mistake. “In hindsight, not having Laxman in our 2003 WC squad was a mistake.
While picking the squad, the onus was on having the right balance. Dinesh Mongia’s ability to chip in with a few overs tilted the scales in his favour,” Sourav told TOI. “Looking back, I do feel Laxman should have been picked.” TNN
His journey in his own words
[ From the archives of the Times of India] ‘You cannot satisfy everyone’
Laxman talks about his ‘fabulous’ journey and looks forward to slowing down
Solomon S Kumar
Hyderabad: VVS Laxman his class by taming the most fearsome attack of his time – the Aussies and put India on path to the top spot. In his last chat with the media, Laxman bared his soul.
A hasty decision?
I won’t say it’s hasty. It has definitely been a tough decision for me because as I mentioned earlier I took a lot of pride in playing for my country. I’ve always listened to my inner conscience, and that is also why I played cricket as a career. Because I always wanted to become a doctor at the age of 10 but my inner voice said I should become a cricketer which was definitely a tougher career path. And common sense says that you prefer medicine over cricket; because it’s definitely a gamble. But I listened to my inner voice and throughout my career I’ve always done that. I always played the game over the last 16 years only with the purpose of putting country ahead of personal aspirations. One of my personal goals is definitely do well against teams like England and Australia for the sole reason that we didn’t do well against them last year. And that was the motivation for me to be part of the team which achieves success against them. But I felt it was the right time for me to move on so that an opportunity can be given to a youngster to play in home conditions.
On being selected for this series but rejecting it
I never thought I would actually quit before New Zealand series. I’m very glad the selectors reposed faith in me. But it was time to listen to my inner voice which I think is very critical and crucial for me.
On selectors’ response
They were surprised and they were definitely not happy with that. Like the way I convinced my family, which was a very difficult task, I convinced the chairman of selection committee and also the board president. I must say that with great reluctance they have accepted the decision.
On chat with teammates
Since morning I have chatted with all my teammates and it was very, very emotional. I was trying to get to MS but obviously it’s very difficult to reach him (laughs) and everyone knows that. Saying that, it was very emotional last 4-5 hours talking to all my teammates with whom I’ve shared the best of my life and best of my career.
On giving back to cricket
Definitely, there will be various opportunities for me. This season I will be playing for Hyderabad and sharing all my experience with the team. That (winning Ranji Trophy) is also a dream and I hope to do it.
On toughest bowler
The toughest bowler I faced was definitely Wasim Akram for the variations he had and the skill he had. And he was the master of variation. But saying that international cricket gave me an opportunity to play the best bowlers world over and that’s the challenge which probably got the best out of me.
On being hurt by comments of former players
Right from the start of my career there have been a lot of people who wrote negative about me and there have been more number of people who actually were my well wishers and talked positive about me. But in a country where cricket is more a religion than sport if you try to satisfy each and everyone it is next to impossible. And that is why that I have always followed my inner voice and did what is good for the team.
On missed opportunities
See this is the time where I’m just cherishing my fabulous journey. During16 years there will be disappointments, there will be a lot of success.
On Dravid, Sachin etc
What can I say? They are the legends of the game and I think it was my privilege and honour to play not only with Sachin, Rahul but also Anil Kumble, Virender Sehwag, Sourav and lot of other players who I played with at the start of my career. All these players inspired me for one single reason, that all of them had one single goal in their mind which is to do well for the country and the progress of Indian cricket. So all these players are real role models not only for me for the future generation also.
On disappointing his fans
I must say that I must have disappointed a lot of well wishers starting with my family. I’m sure my family would have loved to walk into this ground and watch me play in my last Test match for the country. I’m sincerely apologizing to all my well wishers across the world and more importantly in Hyderabad that I’m not giving them an opportunity to see me one last time. So I feel that while I know that I’m disappointing my fans and well wishers I think that I’ve taken the right decision in the interest of the game.
On writing an autobiography
I think I’ll have a lot of free time. I want to share my journey with all my well wishers, fans but I don’t know when.
Memoirs
VVS Laxman, known for his elegant and wristy batting, has just penned his autobiography. Titled ‘281 and Beyond’ after his momentous knock, the book also gives insights into his teammates. Excerpts...
First, a confession. I am an unabashed admirer of Viru. Actually, make that two confessions. When I first saw him bat, I didn’t think he had it in him to be consistently successful at the highest level.
Viru’s unique talent expressed itself during the 2001 ODI series against Australia. In the first match in Bangalore, he blasted 58, took three wickets with his off-spin, and was the man of the match. The night before the Pune match, we had gone out for dinner — Viru, Zak and I. Out of the blue, Viru told me, ‘Laxman bhai, you had a great opportunity to make a triple hundred in the Kolkata Test, but unfortunately, you didn’t. Now you wait and watch, I will become the first Indian to score 300 in Test cricket.’ My jaw dropped and I stared at him in astonishment. This guy had played just four ODIs, wasn’t anywhere close to Test selection, and here he was, making the most outrageous of claims. For a second, I thought he was joking, but Viru was dead serious. To be honest, I didn’t know what to make of it.
Viru’s preparation was unlike anything the rest of us did. He kept things to a bare minimum. I have never seen him overprepare. He would bat in the nets, take his quota of catches, and then retire to the dressing room — no extra throw-downs, no additional knocking. He semi-mocked us: ‘You must play more balls in the match, not at practice.’ You can’t argue with that logic, not when it worked so often for him.
After the Multan triple hundred, he came up to me and laughed, ‘I told you so, VVS.’ I couldn’t have been happier that my 281 had been surpassed. For a country that had given the world so many great batsmen, not having a triple centurion was an aberration. Viru set that record straight. It had taken him less than three years to translate his prophecy into reality. I was curious to know where he had got the confidence from to make that prediction in Pune. ‘In order to get to a triple, you have to score very quickly, VVS,’ he explained, as if to a child. ‘You need to play a lot of shots and get your runs very quickly. In this Indian team, I didn’t see anyone else doing that.’ It was said not with arrogance, but from an understanding of his game and inherent intelligence. He knew that he had a better chance than anyone else of getting to 300 because of the nature of his game, high-risk but also high-reward, as the records indicate.
WHEN DHONI DROVE A BUS, AND VVS RETIRED UNHURT
MS Dhoni’s calmness and equanimity are legendary. He had seen nothing but success until the tour of England in 2011. We had lost 4–0 in England and had already lost the first three Tests in Australia by the end of that year, and were heading for another whitewash. I was a mess, as were most of the guys, but MS was unbelievably composed. Not once did he lash out, and at no stage did he give the impression that he was frustrated or helpless. I prided myself on being level-headed, but MS took it to another level when he said, ‘Lachi bhai, what is the point of feeling dejected and depressed? All it will do is harm your performance even more.’ One of my abiding memories is of MS driving the team bus to the hotel in Nagpur, during my 100th Test. I couldn’t believe my eyes — the captain of the team driving us back from the ground! It was his first Test in charge after Anil’s (Kumble) retirement, and he didn’t seem to have a care in the world. But he was like that, playful and grounded.
MS never lost the joy, the playfulness. I have never met anyone quite like him. His room was open to all when he first came into the squad, and even during my last Test, by which time he was already one of India’s most successful captains, he didn’t shut the door until it was time for him to hit the bed.
After I informed the media of my decision to retire, the questions flowed. ‘Have you informed your teammates?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Have you spoken to Dhoni, what did he have to say?’ ‘Everyone knows how difficult it is to reach Dhoni,’ I joked. Little did I realise that this would trigger the first and only controversy of my cricketing career.
I had unwittingly provided fodder to the media, who started to speculate that I had retired in a huff because MS and I had differences, that there was a rift between us. It wasn’t funny at the time, but one of the headlines the following day read, ‘VVS, retired hurt.
I waited for the end of the Test and then went to the hotel to thank every teammate and member of the support staff individually. When I met MS, he took one look at me and burst out laughing. ‘Laxman bhai, you are not used to all these controversies, but I am. Don’t take this to heart. We all know that sometimes, facts need not come in the way of a good story.’ I was once again struck by his maturity, his simplicity, and how easily he had put me at ease.
Even today, despite repeated denials, people tell me — not ask, but tell — that I retired because of MS. I have learnt not to be affected by it anymore.
A thanking note to all
[ From the archives of the Times of India]
Solomon S Kumar | TNN
‘Mustn’t forget physios’
While announcing his retirement, VVS Laxman took special care to thank a number of people who were closely involved in making his career a success, including his parents. He also thanked his relatives, friends, coaches, Hyderabad Cricket Association and BCCI for helping him play so long for India. Laxman also thanked his wife Sailaja, who he said had made a lot of sacrifices to make sure he could always be on tour pursuing his passion. The Padma Shri awardee added: “I thank all my coaches for various teams I represented at the domestic and national level for always encouraging and motivating me to become a consistent performer. I must not forget all the physios and trainers who worked hard to keep me fit.” Laxman also remembered his teammates “whom I played and shared the best moments of my life with. Lastly, Laxman took time to acknowledge his fans and well-wishers from India and the world.
