JOIN USResolute stylist
It’s been a phenomenal last couple of years for VVS Laxman. The 36-year-old Hyderabadi stylist has hit a rich vein of form, steadily pushing his average up. Crucially, his in-the-trenches resolve and the propensity to score runs in extenuating circumstances are finally being acknowledged, but Laxman tells Deccan Herald that he feels there are plenty more boxes that he still needs to tick. Excerpts:
What would you attribute your extraordinary run since 2008 to?
Actually, I have not changed anything as such. I have followed the same work ethic, the preparation for every match has been the same. It’s only that the environment has changed a lot, so I am enjoying my game much more. I am not putting undue pressure on myself. The most important thing in the last two years is that I am enjoying the game the most in my entire career, and that’s translating into performances. With the group of players we have at the moment, it’s more like a family; everyone is enjoying each other’s company. The environment is such that it allows us to play our natural game and perform to the best of our abilities.
That is a significant change from the past from a personal perspective…
Yes, when I look back, there were a lot of times when I was unnecessarily put in a position where I was needlessly made to feel the pressure of retaining my place. Obviously, once you have that in mind, the way you play changes. Since the time Anil (Kumble) took over in 2007, I have been more relaxed, and that insecurity of keeping my place is not there. Once Srikkanth and his team (of selectors) took over, they also gave a lot of confidence to me and other players. That always helps – when the captain, the coach and the selection committee back you, you are not thinking about negative things. Otherwise, irrespective of how much experience you have, it plays on your mind, it affects the way you play the game.
The last two and a half years, since Anil took over as captain followed by MS (Dhoni), and then Gary (Kirsten) as coach, that aspect is not there. For me personally, there have been situations where the team has been in a spot of bother and I have been able to perform in that situation. That gives me more satisfaction – that I have been able to do that a lot more in the last two and a half years than I did at any previous stage.
Is there any particular reason why you respond so brilliantly in a crisis situation?
That gets the best out of me. Even on my Test debut against South Africa in 1996, Anil and I had a partnership and bailed the team out of trouble in Ahmedabad. It’s probably the challenge of the position we are in. The concentration level is much higher when you are confronted with the challenge of facing top-class bowlers with the team in trouble than when you walk into an easier situation. That has been a habit from my younger days. Being the mainstay of the Hyderabad batting, I always took it upon myself to win matches. That experience has helped me, especially when the team is in tough situation – whether it is a match-winning or a match-saving knock.
Do you see the tag of ‘crisis man’ bogging you down?
I have always enjoyed batting in a crisis situation. Everyone talks of that 281 in Kolkata, but honestly speaking, it never put any pressure on me. People probably expected that to happen often, but such kind of innings or matches come very rarely. Also, very rarely will you get into the situation of the Mohali match against Australia this year. I’ve always wanted to do well in such situations; I don’t really think how people perceive what I do for the team. But I feel very disappointed when I don’t do well in such situations. I was disappointed in Galle this year when I got run out and couldn’t save the game. Or against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad last year, when we were five for three and I got out. If I don’t do well in such situations, I feel very bad. But what people expect or what they say doesn’t put any pressure on me.
In that sense, would you call yourself your worst critic?
Yes, I definitely feel so. It’s not only that I am a critic; the expectations I have of myself, right from my childhood, are too high. Probably because of that, I have been able to survive for so long. If you don’t desire to get better, you will stagnate at some stage. Indirectly, yes, I am too harsh on myself. I have been taught by my parents to always strive to become better and better so that you can do better for the country. I have taken that very seriously. In the bargain, sometimes I put undue pressure on myself and expect to perform always. Being a game, that isn’t always possible. But being a professional sportsman representing the country, you expect to do well in every match and if you don’t, you feel disappointed and want to do well in the next game.
How happy are you with the numbers against your name?
I would have had more satisfaction if I had scored more hundreds. I am quite happy with my average – batting at number five, number six for a long time, averaging almost 48 is quite good. But because I have 48 fifties and only 16 hundreds, the conversion rate has not been good for various reasons. I feel you must convert at least every third 50 into a hundred; mine is once every four times and I am not happy with that. Hopefully, I will change that before I retire!
Especially this year, you have had to battle not just difficult situations and the opposition bowling, but also your back…
I had this back spasm at the P Sara Test in Colombo, but got the team home with that fourth-innings century. It was a similar situation in Mohali against Australia, I had spasms while fielding and actually thought I would take no further part in the Test. I only batted in the first innings (at number ten) because Suresh Raina was nearing his century and in the second innings, I was hoping I didn’t get to bat because we had to chase just 216. But then on the fourth evening, we lost four wickets and there was no option but for me to bat.
After play that evening, I had a net and I was hitting the ball quite well. The original plan was for me to bat at eight after Dhoni and Harbhajan, but because I was hitting the ball well, Gary felt it was better me going and building a partnership with Sachin. Luckily for me, we had a decent partnership and then I continued with Ishant. It was definitely one of the best moments of my career when we won the game in such a close finish.
The back has been troubling me since Sri Lanka. The BCCI has been kind enough to send me to London and then to Germany to sort it out. It was quite good against New Zealand, I had no problems. In both Colombo and Mohali, while I was batting, I actually forgot I had back spasms. Because you are so involved in the game and with the target and the goal ahead, you switch off thinking about the injury and concentrate on the task at hand.
South Africa beckons now, world number one against world number two…
As a batsman, when you do well abroad, it gives you more satisfaction because the conditions are alien. We have the experience of playing there for the last so many years but these are not conditions we are totally familiar with or play in day in and day out. You get quick and bouncy wickets, there is a lot of lateral movement.
When you do well in these conditions against top-class attacks – the South African attack is one of the best in world cricket – you get a lot of satisfaction. As a team, we are looking forward to this series.
Not to put undue pressure on ourselves, we just want to go out and play to the best of our ability and play with a relaxed mind. The preparation will be very important, hopefully we will be at the top of our games. It will be most crucial to bat well in the first innings of the series. Then we can set up the game because we have a very good bowling attack. It’s how we bat in the first innings of the series which will decide how the series goes. It’s the fourth visit for a Test series to South Africa for Rahul and myself, Sachin has been there before us. The experience of those visits will help us. We will definitely take the responsibility to do well for the country.
