The Offside
It is time the Indians began to think positively. Successful
limited-overs sides all over the world Australia and South
Africa, for example - have separate teams for Tests and one-
dayers. A look at the skills required in the two different forms
of the game makes it clear that VVS Laxman is better suited to
the longer version.
In the Tests, the emphasis is on longevity - long stays at the
wicket, where scoring runs at a brisk pace takes a back seat to
survival. The bowling has more teeth, with short-pitched stuff
and attacking fields in use. In the limited-overs game, on the
other hand, one has to be fleet-footed, quick-thinking and
constantly looking to force the pace.
Laxman is not the fittest cricketer around. On the field, he has
not only dropped some vital catches in the slip cordon, but he
has been a liability in the outfield. Fielding inside the circle,
he is slow off his toes, and in the outfield, he is a slow
chaser. All this may be attributed to a knee injury he sustained
earlier. That may be a good reason for it, but that kind of
inadequacy is difficult to hide in limited-overs cricket.
In 37 one-day internationals, Laxman has managed a total of 857
runs at a disappointing average of 25.96. What's more, these runs
have come at a strike-rate of under 65 runs per hundred balls.
Those are not the kind of statistics that make for good reading
if you are a Laxman fan.
He is a great cricketer and has done India proud more than once,
but limited-overs games are simply not his cup of tea. The Indian
team was right in dropping Laxman.
The Onside
It is one of the oldest, most well-worn cliches in the vocabulary
of the cricket writer - form is temporary, class is permanent. In
this case, it is a question of a very classy batsman being in
fine form. What can be more compelling than that?
In the recently concluded Test series, which the West Indies won
2-1, VVS Laxman was far and away India's most successful batsman.
On wickets where players of the calibre of Sachin Tendulkar
struggled, Laxman took the initiative and came out successfully.
Batting with confidence and poise, Laxman was up to the task of
facing anything the spinners or pacemen dished out. Notching up
474 runs at an average of 79, Laxman was far ahead of the next
man Rahul Dravid (404 runs at 57.71).
When one is away touring, batting with confidence is of utmost
importance. In foreign circumstances, with a majority of batsmen
struggling to come to terms with the conditions, Laxman showed
that he had it in him to take the bowling on. The Trinidad Test
match saw Laxman's contribution reach a peak scoring 67 and 74
in an Indian victory.
Of course, there are those who would argue that performance in
Tests should not be the criterion for selection in one-dayers.
There may be some truth in that. However, Laxman is the kind of
batsman who scores his runs with a large percentage of
boundaries. In full flow, he is unstoppable and can change the
course of a match singlehandedly. In short, he's a match-winner.
India simply cannot afford to leave out such a cricketer and were
wrong in dropping Laxman from the one-day team.
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