Laxman was known to be the next big thing from Hyderabad after Azharuddin: Rahul Dravid

Bengaluru, 21 December 2018: Former Indian cricketer, VVS Laxman yesterday released his much-awaited autobiography, 281 and Beyond, at Mynt Lawns, Taj West End, Bangalore. The celebrated cricketer was in conversation with cricket legends Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath. Published by Westland Publications Pvt. Ltd., the book has released under their new imprint, Westland Sport.

Commenting on VVS Laxman’s intriguing journey, former captain of Indian national cricket team, Rahul Dravid said, “Laxman already had a reputation when he came to play for under 19. For me, it was an incredible experience to watch Laxman bat. I was so blessed & fortunate to watch him batting. He was known to be the next big thing from Hyderabad after Azharuddin. To have someone like Laxman who is so disciplined in our team forced me and challenged me to up my game.”

It was a terrible situation

Reminiscing the day at Eden Gardens playing with Dravid, VVS Laxman said, “It was kind of living in the present because we were 274 runs behind and we didn’t have the chance to think about what has happened and what is going to happen. The reality was it was a terrible situation for us to be in. So we broke it down into small goals. As individuals, we wanted to play each and every ball to its merit and at the end of each over we would encourage each other to play the best we could in the next over.”

Highlighting VVS Laxman and Dravid’s excellent partnership, former cricketer Anil Kumble said, “I missed watching the Kolkata 281 match. But in Adelaide, the one thing that kept coming back in my head was the hope that it would be like that partnership Dravid and Laxman shared in Kolkata. I was fortunate to watch the Adelaide test where they scored 300 and I also probably had a great feel that we were going to win the test match at that point of time.”

A stylish batsman who could score against any kind of bowling, VVS Laxman played over a hundred Tests to score over 8000 runs. In his autobiography, he opens up about his early cricketing days and playing for Hyderabad. He talks about his friendship and camaraderie with former teammates Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Mohammad Azharuddin, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble, and the special connection he has with Eden Gardens.

Praising VVS Laxman’s sportsmanship, former cricketer and current ICC match referee, Javagal Srinath said, “My first test match experience with Laxman, was great. I could see his confidence throughout the match and he scored some crucial runs for us. We could all see that Laxman comes with a class of cricket that gave him confidence to do better.”

The autobiography is candid and reflective, and deeply insightful. Laxman writes of dressing-room meltdowns and champagne evenings, the exhilaration of playing with and against the best in the world, the nuances of batting in different formats and on various pitches, the learnings with John Wright and the rocky times under Greg Chappell.

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