VVS Laxman- Taking guard in the commentary box

He composed poetry for a decade and a half. The languid movement of his willow added glitter to his words. The mellifluous metaphors were oozing from the pens of the cricket writers. But for the Indian cricket team, VVS Laxman was stacking up useful contributions amidst the galaxy of batting stars. Laxman was India’s ‘Dial 911’ who had the propensity to weather the squall with single-minded determination. One guffawed if people said that Laxman was the team’s best batsman. That distinction belonged to India’s most revered son, the batting maestro and the ever so solid Wall of India. But Laxman had his own charisma in the dressing room.

So when Laxman took guard in the Star Cricket commentary box, the whole world wondered how he would perform? The box had people who had been commentating much before Laxman took a leg-stump guard in his debut Test at Ahmedabad 17 seasons ago. There was another guy in the box who has 708 Test wickets, but someone who suffered at the hands of wristy Hyderabadi.

As a player, Laxman never made any controversial remarks. He played the game in a disciplined manner and was a gentleman who always adhered to the spirit of the game. Laxman’s peers in the box (the former players) had mercurial temperaments. Remember the time when Gavaskar almost took his team off when he was adjudged leg-before in Australia? Remember the time when Allan Border had a tiff with the umpires in the famous tied Test match? “I will give you a red card now, if you do not stop,” said Dara Dotiwala, one of the umpires in the tied Test. And there are tonnes of things I could write about Shane Warne being a bad boy. So would the niceties in Laxman be an impediment to him being an effective commentator?

As a matter of fact, Laxman had his own style of commentary. Dawdling, thoughtful and precise words came out of his mouth. He was not diplomatic at all and had firm opinions on various issues. Firstly, he criticized the team management for not picking Pragyan Ojha in the Test match. The argument that Australian left handers struggle against the off-spinners and hence Ojha had to sit out was not acceptable to Laxman. The bowlers in form should play was as terse a reply as you could get from Laxman.

When Dhoni scored his maiden double century, Laxman praised him for the manner in which he batted. Laxman also talked about how he always marvelled at Dhoni’s fitness. But it was not all praise for the Indian captain. Laxman criticized his former skipper in equal measure. When Harbhajan was not given many overs in the first innings, Laxman questioned Dhoni’s tactics. “It could affect his morale,” said Laxman in a concerning tone.

He also shared some of his memorable moments as a cricketer. Gavaskar was criticizing the close-in fielders for appealing frivolously. Laxman, at the start of his career, was a silly point fielder himself. He empathized with the fielders and told that as a player he was told to appeal no matter what. Else he had to face Anil Kumble’s wrath in the dressing room. Laxman’s narrated this story with laughter. Sure Laxman was not as graceful with the words as he was with the hit through mid-wicket, but his cricketing acumen was seen with his minute observations.

As a cricketer, it took Laxman 14 years to play his first home Test match at Hyderabad. His second Test as a commentator is in his own backyard. I do not know if that is what you call poetic justice. But it would be surely an enriching experience to hear the man who has scripted India’s Renaissance when he had the chutzpah to attack the best attack of the world and compile 281 precious runs.

We owe a lot to you VVS Laxman.

Over to you, Laxman!