Related to India’s former President S. Radhakrishnan, coming from a family of doctors and hence, obviously expected to follow in his parents’ footsteps, brilliant in academics and among the top scorers in the Andhra Pradesh board exams with 98 per cent in science stream and on the cusp of gaining entry into the medical field.
But there is a sudden twist in the tale and the gentleman in question ends up in a different field all together, goes on to represent the country and continues to be associated with the sport whose players are considered nothing short of demigods by the fans.
That in a nutshell are a few of the little-known nuggets of former Indian international cricketer V.V.S. Laxman who was the backbone of the Indian middle-order during his heydays and played 134 tests notching up 17 test centuries in a career spanning 16 years.
These and other interesting facets of Mr. Laxman came to the fore during a panel discussion on the second day of the 7th edition of Mysuru Literature Festival organised by Mysuru Literary Forum Charitable Trust and Mysuru Book Clubs -2015, here on Sunday, July 2.
Anchored by senior journalist Krishna Prasad, Mr. Laxman in reply to a question, said that he was related to Radhakrishnan from his mother’s side and preferred to label it as a ‘’distant relative’’.
To a question on Pakistan’s participation in IPL or whether India should resume touring Pakistan, Mr. Laxman said they were dependent on the diplomatic ties between the countries and the decision of the Government which, they as players, should respect it.
That everyone has quaint habits or peculiarities is well-known and in Laxman’s case, it is his penchant for taking showers. But one of it had the Indian cricket team — touring South Africa in 2007 — in a quandary.
During a test match in Cape Town against South Africa in 2007, Laxman was slotted to bat at Number 5 and Saurav Ganguly at no. 6 and as it transpired a few Indian wickets fell in quick succession. There was chaos in the dressing room as the next batsman Sachin was not allowed to take to the field for a few more minutes due to technical reasons while Laxman whose turn came sooner than expected, was in shower !
The non-striking batsman was Rahul Dravid who was expecting Sachin Tendulkar to join him but instead it was Saurav Ganguly who emerged from the pavilion!
Much of the discussion centred around the book titled ‘’281 and Beyond’’ written by Laxman with R. Kaushik. Mr. Laxman said his book is all about sharing his experience and to follow and live a dream of playing for India that should serve to inspire others.
In the discussions that followed, it also transpired that Mr. Laxman’s decision to retire from test cricket was also taken during a visit to the city and in a hotel room here. The panel discussion was followed by Mr. Laxman and R. Kaushik signing autographs.
