Beyond the pitch

It was the second test match against Australia in 2001 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Team India was following on after being bowled on 171 in reply to Australia’s score of 445. Many had resigned to the fact that India was at the verge of losing the match by an inning. VVS Laxman was brought to bat at number three and what followed became history. Together with Rahul Dravid, Laxman put India in command and scored 281 runs, the highest ever by an Indian in a test match. The iconic 281 runs became a defining moment of his  career and also a part of his new book’s title — 281 And Beyond. “A lot of people think that 281 is the only achievement in my career, but this book is all about what happened before 281 and after that.” The book launch was attended by Laxman’s former teammates including Sachin Tendulkar, Ashish Nehra, Murali Karthik and his U19 mentor Sandeep Patil.

Under 19 days
As the conversation veered towards the batsman’s U19 days, Sandeep Patil, former Indian cricketer and the U19 coach during Laxman’s time, shares his memory of working with the player.  “When I saw VVS for the first time in Hyderabad, I could see it was a special talent. It was God gifted. It’s like M F Hussein with a brush in his hand and canvas in front, and VVS with the bat in his hand on the grass, he was very dangerous.”

Sharing his own memory of meeting a cricket star for the first time, Laxman says, “We were all in awe of Sandy bhai[Sandeep Patil]. Because he was the first superstar we met at U19 level. We saw him on TV, playing some marvellous knocks and also the 1983 world cup. Unfortunately, I didn’t see his film but heard a lot about it and got to know a lot about Poonam Dhillon also,” he laughs. “And every day, after the match got over in the evening, we used to gather in Sandy bhai’s room for Bacardi and rum. All of us were in awe when we heard his stories.” Laxman also shares the story when he first time got selected in the U19 team for a practice match against Australia Youth team. “The Australian team had Andrew Simonds, Matthew Nicholson and Michael Hussey. The captain Rob Baker was very talented. We got hammered at the Gymkhana ground since after playing at the MGC ground, this one looked very small to them,” he recalls addinghow their coach Sandeep motivated them and gave them the confidence to play. Laxman ended up scoring the maximum number of runs during the three-match series.

The golden era
Making his test in debut in 1996, Laxman stepped into the Indian cricket team with Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. Talking about his earliest interaction with Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar who was the captain then says, “In 1997 when we went to South Africa, and Laxman was there in the team. In Johannesburg, Laxman got hit on his knuckles and broke his finger and in those days, the dressing room was slightly different. He was sitting right in the corner hiding his face, facing the wall.” Being the captain, Sachin consoled him as Laxman was asked by the team management to return to India, but he fought to stay. “That was my first experience with him, who even after breaking his finger, wanted to continue. But he had shown a lot of talent and passion on that tour. Something that fascinated me was that wrist work and time to play. When you looked at him, it was hard to figure out if the bowler was bowling at 90 mph or 82 mph. He had that finesse,” Sachin added.

Despite their warm camaraderie, things did get heated at the pitch at times. Harsha Bhogle, playing the devil’s advocate and reminded Laxman about the Sharjah match, “You’re at Sharjah, playing against Australia, there’s the big desert storm innings, and you’re at the non-striker’s end from Tendulkar. You turned down a single and he shouts at you. Was that the only time or did it happen more often?” “It happened twice,” replies Laxman with a laugh. “The desert storm match. What a seat I had in the house, I was at the other end, but he was not as friendly as he is now,” Laxman added with a cheeky smile. “He was in a zone, the only thing that was in his mind was the Indian team qualifying for the finals. We were in a tough position, we lost wickets, I was at number 6, I don’t know why I batted at number six in one-dayers. Sachin was there and if Indian team could qualify for the final only he could do it. I was at the receiving end, and he didn’t even realise he was shouting at me.” Harsha interferes, “But why did he shout at you?” “As always, I didn’t take the single,” the ace batsman replies with a laugh.

Harsha Bhogle points out another interesting story and asked Sachin, “How did you come to terms with the fact that he’s supposed to go and bat next, but he’s in the shower.” To which Sachin narrates the entire story, “It wasn’t his fault, it was fourth umpires fault. This was in Cape Town and I was off the field and I didn’t go back and suddenly South Africans declared. So, I specifically went and asked the umpire if I was okay to bat at no 4 and he agreed. So I went and padded up, waiting in the dressing room and mentally getting ready. And in the first over, Viru [Virendra Sehwag] got out and the fourth umpire walked into the dressing room informing me that that I cannot bat for the next 11 minutes. So, we all started panicking, looking for Laxman and he was in the shower.” At this, the whole room erupts with laughter and Sachin continues, “So he would take a long shower and after that, he would sit calmly and finish his apple. And then suddenly, we realised that the only player who can go out is Dada [Sourav Ganguly] but he was in his shorts.

So, we started asking Dada to get ready, and Dada kept saying, Laxman ko bolo,’ We got him to change quickly and Dada (well his nickname was maharaja and we still call him that) was actually standing, while I am fixing one pad while someone else was tying the other. Dada was so used to batting at his own number that he’s still asking ‘Laxman nahi ja sakta?’. So eventually, we actually lost a wicket and Dada had to go out but he was not in the frame of mind. He walks out to bat with two right-handed gloves, then we’re passing him left-handed glove. He forgot his bat, helmet. When all this was happening Laxman was still in the bathroom.” Trying to defend himself, Laxman says, “As soon as the first wicket fell, I went in for a quick shower. And I didn’t know that the fourth umpire actually came and told Sachin. And then Bhajji came and he was saying, ‘Laxman batting ko jana hai, batting ko jana hai, and I’m like, ‘Bhajji masti mat kar yaar, test match chal raha hai,’. Bhajji is a prankster so I thought he was joking, and when I came out of the shower, Sachin came and told me. That’s when I realised the seriousness of the issue,” he reminisces.