‘Viru was sure he’d be the first Indian to score 300’

News Network
November 18, 2018

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 over-prepare. 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.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Mumbai, Mar 5: Former India spinner Sunil Joshi was on Wednesday named chairman of the national selection panel by the BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which also picked ex-pacer Harvinder Singh to the five-member group.

The CAC, comprising Madan Lal, R P Singh and Sulakshana Naik, picked the two selectors with Joshi replacing South Zone representative MSK Prasad.

In an unprecedented decision, the BCCI said the CAC will review the panel's performance after one year and make recommendations accordingly.

"The committee recommended Sunil Joshi for the role of chairman of the senior men's selection committee. The CAC will review the candidates after a one-year period and make the recommendations to the BCCI," read a statement from BCCI Secretary Jay Shah.

Harvinder was chosen from central zone and replaces Gagan Khoda in the panel.

The existing members of the selection panel are Jatain Paranjpe, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh.

"We have picked the best guys for the job," Lal told news agency.

The CAC had shortlisted five candidates for interviews -- Joshi, Harvinder, Venkatesh Prasad, Rajesh Chauhan and L S Sivaramakrishnan -- from a list of 40 applicants.

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News Network
May 8,2020

Karachi, May 8: A cricket museum based in India has bought a bat auctioned by Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali to raise funds for the needy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Azhar had put two of his precious belongings -- the bat he used to score 302 runs against the West Indies in a Test in 2016 and the jersey he wore during the 2017 Champions Trophy final win over India -- on an online auction to raise funds for the people affected by the deadly disease.

Both the bat and jersey were signed by members of the Pakistan team.

Azhar announced on social media that he had kept a base price of one million each for the bat and jersey and they had sold for 2.2 million.

He confirmed that Blades of Glory Cricket Museum based in Pune bought the bat by making a winning offer of Rs. 1 million for the bat.

Azhar said that the auction of the shirt also generated a lot of interest and Kash Villani, a Pakistani based in California, came up with the highest bid of Rs. 1.1 million for the shirt before the conclusion of the auction.

Another Pakistani based in New Jersey, Jamal Khan also donated Rs. 100,000 for the cause.

"I put two of my closest belongings on auction with base price of 1 million PKR each to support people suffering due to ongoing crisis. Auction starts now and will close on 11:59 PM 05 May, 2020," Azhar had tweeted.

Ali became the first international player to score a test triple century in Day/Night Test when he scored an unbeaten 302 against the West Indies team in UAE in 2016.

"The shirt is from 2017 Champions Trophy which we won, it has the signature of all the players which were present in the squad," Ali said in a video posted on Twitter.

"Both these things are close to my heart but if it can be used in the difficult times for the benefit of the people I will more than happy."

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News Network
April 14,2020

Karachi, Apr 14: Disappointed with Kapil Dev's response, Pakistan's Shahid Afridi has backed his former teammate Shoaib Akhtar's proposal for an ODI series against India to help raise funds for the less privileged in their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Afridi told reporters in Kohat that he was surprised by the comments of Indian great Kapil and former IPL chairman, Rajeev Shukla, who outrightly dismissed Akhtar's suggestion.

"The entire world is fighting against coronavirus and we need unity in our region to defeat this common enemy. Such negative comments don't help at all," Afridi said.

"I don't see anything wrong with Shoaib Akhtar's suggestion for Pakistan and India to play cricket.

"Kapil's reaction has surprised me. I expected better from him and feel one should not talk like this in these crisis times."

Afridi said that he was also surprised at some of the "negative comments" Indian stars Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh's support for his charity foundation attracted.

"Sport is supposed to bring people together and build bridges. It is pretty disappointing."

Afridi also urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to order the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to restore departmental cricket in the country to save the livelihood of hundreds of domestic players.

"I myself played for the departments and witnessed how departments really salvaged domestic cricket in Pakistan and helped it thrive decade after decade.

"Departments take good care of the players and spend lots of money on the development of domestic cricket, so how can departmental cricket hurt Pakistan cricket," questioned Afridi.

He also questioned the PCB and the Pakistan team management for making a fitness of players a big issue.

"They are always talking about hard training and fitness tests. I have never seen fitness tests taken with such frequency and the result is that many players are getting injured and many of them are also unhappy with the situation."

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