Sourav Ganguly credits VVS Laxman for saving his career
Sourav Ganguly praised VVS Laxman whose 281 against Australia in 2001 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata helped the former skipper hold on to his post as captain of the Indian team. Ganguly also added that despite being in the ODI team for a limited period, Laxman was capable of playing across all formats.
Along with the likes of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman is also regarded as one of the most stylish batsmen to have emerged from India. The towering player’s exquisite shot-selection and graceful strokeplay grabbed eyeballs all across the globe in a distinguished playing career on the big stage.
However, one of the knocks that defined Laxman’s career was the 281 that he scored against Steve Waugh’s Australia at Eden Gardens back in 2001. Sourav Ganguly-led India was trailing the series by 1-0 after losing the opener in Mumbai and were in a tough spot in Kolkata before a brilliant 376-run fifth wicket partnership between Laxman and Dravid set the tone for an epic 171-run win against the mighty Aussies.
And Ganguly was full of praise for his former teammate as he mentioned that Laxman’s surreal 281 probably saved his career back then. So when the Hyderabadi batsman chose to write his autobiography, ‘281 and Beyond’, the title of the book was a no-brainer. However, Ganguly joked that he wasn’t pleased with the title.
“I also texted him a month back but he didn’t reply,” Ganguly said at the Kolkata leg of the book launch. I told him it was not the apt title… It should have been ‘281 and beyond and that saved Sourav Ganguly’s career’. I strongly opposed the title because if he had not scored 281, we would have lost the Test and I would not have been captain again,” Ganguly told PTI.
Despite having a successful career in Tests, Laxman’s limited overs career failed to live up to the same standards as he played only 86 ODI’s and was also dropped from the Indian squad that travelled to South Africa for the 2003 World Cup, Something that Ganguly admits ‘maybe was a mistake’. The Hyderabadi batsman is remembered for his superb 102 against Australia in Gwalior in 2003 in a tri-series which also involved New Zealand.
“Laxman was a player who could have done well in all formats. In hindsight, maybe it was a mistake. As a captain, you take decisions and things happen which may not be right or wrong,” Ganguly added.
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