Very, Very Special Indeed
When Vangipurapu Venkata
Sai Laxman, better known
as VVS Laxman, announced
his retirement from international cricket
with immediate effect – shortly before
the start of the India vs New Zealand test
series (in which he was scheduled to
play) – it shocked the selectors. However,
there must been many, particularly
fans, who would say that the selection
board had it coming.
When he made his international
cricketing debut in 1996, along with
Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly, Laxman
showed promise. And he went on
to deliver on it – time and time again.
However, for reasons unknown, Laxman
alone had to go through the pains of
having to prove his capabilities to the selectors
– year in, year out. The world
(particularly the Aussies, no less) recognised
and praised his prowess with the
willow, but the selection board was almost
always tentative about him.
While Ganguly went on become the
captain of the national team and Dravid
established himself as the “Wall” of the
Indian side (in test and eventually in the
one-day version as well), Laxman could
never really consolidate his position in
the team. During his 17-year career in
international cricket, Laxman has faltered
every so often as a batsman, but so
have others such as Ganguly, Dravid,
and the great Tendulkar. Ganguly had
many failings as a skipper, Dravid took
his time to prove his one-day credentials,
and Tendulkar simply could not
handle captainship; but the selection
committee was ready to give them multiple
chances to prove their mettle
(which they did, no doubt). However, in
case of Laxman, even the audience
could realise, it was always almost a door-
die deal. And despite such immense
pressure, Laxman would more often
than not deliver the goods. This is not to
say, though, that such relentless pressure
took a toll on his consistency.
His sudden retirement might have
been a result of the selection board’s decision
to pick him for the India vs New
Zealand series only at the eleventh hour.
Laxman, the gentlemen that he is, did
not point fingers at anyone, but at 38
years of age, he perhaps had had
enough. Never given to vanity or selfpity,
Laxman decided to call time on his
career with full knowledge of the fact
that he could have had his swansong at
the test match against the Kiwis in Hyderabad,
in front of his home crowd.
Even the media did not have a whiff of
his decision until it came from the
horse’s mouth officially at a press conference.
However, those who really knew
Laxman are unlikely to be surprised by
these series of events. He was not designed
to do it any other way.
Laxman was born into a Brahmin
family that was chock-a-block with doctors
(for starters, both his parents are
physicians of repute in Hyderabad). He
himself had one foot in the medicine
profession, having enrolled in medical
college, but soon enough heard his calling
– cricket. But coming from the family
that he belonged to, there were
bound to be odds. But he stuck with his
plan to become a cricketer and set himself
some goals, with a promise that he
would return to what was something of
a family business – a career in medicine
– if the goals were not achieved. However,
soon he found himself in the
Under-19 national squad, followed by a
debut in first-class cricket, and finally a
call for the national team.
He made an impression almost everywhere
he played, with his lazy elegance
coming from a wrist that was as flexible
as that of his role model (Mohammed
Azharuddin) and perfect timing. His
textbook technique was probably at its
best when Indian played the Aussies.
The two double centuries of his career
came against Australia, as did six of his
17 test hundreds against a team that was
indisputably the best in the world at the
time. Of the relatively few one-dayers
that he played, four of his six centuries
also came against Australia. The Aussies
just did not seem to have an answer to
him. There is a famous quote from the
then Australian captain, Steve Waugh,
which he reportedly said to Aussie pace
spearhead Brett Lee: “If you get Dravid,
great. If you get Sachin, brilliant. If you
get Laxman, it's a miracle.” Waugh’s successor
Ricky Ponting – himself a batting
genius – was also known to be in awe of
Laxman’s talent. Besides, Laxman got his
professional nick name of “Very, very
special” from another Aussie great Ian
Chappel, when he was coaching the Indian
team.
He had a memorable tour of West Indies
in the early noughties, when he
scored 474 runs in just eight innings. He
soon backed it up with another set of
stellar performances when the Windies
toured India. During the 2002-04 period,
Laxman enjoyed great form and was a
part of the one-day as well as test team.
However, he suffered a lean period – as
most great batsmen do at some point in
their career – the next couple of years,
when he failed to deliver even against
the Aussies. However, he bounced back
towards the fag end of 2005 by scoring a
magnificent century against the Sri
Lankans, which was instrumental in
India’s winning the match. His next century
was in mid-2006, with which he
won the day for his team by taking the
wind out of the Windies bowlers’ sails.
His performances in subsequent tours
to South Africa and England were nothing
short of memorable, many of them
being of the match-winning kind.
And just like wine, Laxman seemed to
get better with age, as his great run continued
well into the late 2000s. It seems
like by this time, Laxman had learned to
thrive on the constant pressure and scrutiny
he was subject to ever since the start of his career.
The lows of 2004-05 had probably liberated
him. During India’s tour of Australia in
2007, he gave Aussie bowlers a glimpse
of hell by hitting their deliveries left,
right and centre, literally, for a glorious
109 runs, thereby putting India back in
contention at Sydney Cricket Ground.
He followed up on that performance
with a magnificent 79 in Perth and a 51
during the final test in Adelaide.
He continued to torture the Aussies
during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
back home the next year, scoring a double
century along with two half-centuries.
He did not spare the Kiwis either,
when India toured New Zealand in 2009.
He thumped a 76 runs during the first
innings of the second test at Napier, bettering
it even further with a 124 (not
out), to bring India back from the brink
of a demoralising innings defeat. His
contribution to India’s victory against Sri
Lanka during a home series later in the
year was also significant. Laxman hit
three half-centuries in four innings to
help India have a resounding victory
over the Lankans.
In 2010, when the Sri Lankans, itching
for revenge, were close to it during another
series between the South Asian
cricketing giants, Laxman saved the day
with an authoritative 103 runs during
the second innings of the third test to
help India pull off a victory. He was
awarded the man of the match. He received
the same honour last tear during
India’s tour of South Africa for a similarly
impressive show with the willow, thanks
to which Team India could level the test
series against the dangerous Proteas.
In essence, Laxman – unless injured –
was never a victim of inconsistency ever
after his mid-2000 crisis. Therefore, it is
quite likely that he just decided to snub
the selectors – although in his usual
mild-mannered and subtle way – when
they (as if grudgingly) announced on
August 10 that he had been selected for
the India vs New Zealand series, which
was scheduled to start in a few days’
time. Cricket is a gentleman’s game and
gentlemen are supposed to have self-respect.
Laxman certainly had it.
No matter what, Laxman is a success
story without a doubt. The government
gave him due recognition with a Padma
Shri award, but perhaps Tendulkar’s
tweet post Laxman’s retirement was
more heart-felt: “When I walk out to
play in Hyderabad I will feel a deep
void. A void that can never be filled.
My dear friend VVS Laxman, one of
the best players Indian cricket has
seen and I have played with, will no
longer be with me.”
No comments:
Post a Comment