He is always considered to be part of the golden Indian middle order batsmen (Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly being other) but never as an Individual great like others. To me immediate association with Laxman is his monumental 281 and his stylish wristy shots on onside. He doesn’t hold too many individual records like Tendulkar, Dravid or Sehwag. But he is a good player in crisis situations and along with Dravid form among best batting partners in world cricket.
Those who hadn’t realised his value in the team realised it when South Africa toured India for 2 tests in 2010. He missed the 1st test and India lost it, he came back for 2nd test, scored a century and India won it. It is not mere co-incidence; he was the very reason for the difference in result.
Personal records
Unlike Tendulkar, Dravid or Sehwag who have plenty of Individual batting records to their name, Laxman holds no such records. His achievements are severely dwarfed by those of his partners.
- For a player who has played 113 tests, he has scored only 7415 career runs. To put that in perspective, Sehwag has accumulated 7039 runs in only 79 matches. The main reason for this difference is that Laxman bats at No. 6 while Sehwag opens.
- Laxman averages only 47, used to average 43 some time back despite 29 not outs. On a stand alone basis it is a very good average an New Zealand/England batsmen would be extremely proud of it. Again putting that in perspective of his peer’s averages – Gambhir – 53, Sehwag – 54 (with 5 not outs), Dravid – 53, Tendulkar – 56.
But he is among the best difficult pitch players and man to handle crisis situation. How deep can a crisis get than trailing 1-0 in the series and being asked to follow on? How has he responded, scored 281 and turned the series from the verge of losing 3-0 to in fact winning it 2-1 and start a cricket revolution in India.
His best knocks otherwise aren’t those big hundreds, they are those short little cameos on difficult pitches. Here is an abridged list of few such match winning knocks that people don’t easily remember.
- 54 vs South Africa at Ahmedabad on debut in 1996
- 69 vs Australia at Mumbai in 2004 to setup a stiff 4th innings target of 107!
- 79 vs Australia at Perth in 2008 to take India’s lead past 400
- 73 vs South Africa at Johannesberg in 2006 to help India win its first test in South Africa
- 50 vs South Africa at Kanpur in 2008
- 69* and 74 vs West Indies at Trinidad in 2002
- 65 and 66 vs Australia at Chennai in 2001 where he led India to a difficult 4th innings chase of 155
- 72* vs Pakistan at Delhi in 2007 where his partnership with Dhoni helped India match Pakistan’s 1st innings score
None of these knocks would help in improving one’s records but are an immense benefit to team’s cause. Yet is questioned about his team play as he doesn't bat well with tail.
Test only player
He has been stereotyped as a player who can only play tests. Many don’t remember his series deciding hundred in last ODI at Pakistan in 2004. But one or two innings don’t make you a good player. His poor running between the wickets is his weakness that justifies his omission from one day squad. India plays close to 40 ODIs an year and only 8 tests hence Laxman doesn’t fall into majority of fan’s radar.
Laxman is not known for big hitting as he has hit only 4 sixes in each format his entire career!
Money and Advertisements
He had a disastrous stint in IPL, with him as captain his team Deccan Chargers finished last. He also had an ugly spat with his team-mate Shahid Afridi who no where matches Laxman’s class and stature.
He had an option to be the Iconic player for the team and get about $ 1.5 million but opted out of it for $ 450 K to allow his franchise select players like Symonds for $ 1.35 million.
His reserved nature, lack of individual identity, typical south indian accent, sporadic appearance in Team India hasn’t helped him in getting lot of endorsements too.
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