These are not good times for VVS Laxman. With India showing little urgency in playing Tests more frequently, Laxman has had to make do with first-class cricket. At the moment, even that isn’t happening — a stiff back ruled him out of the his team’s ongoing Ranji match against Himachal
Pradesh.
Laxman is hoping to play the next match against Punjab. He spoke to
HT on Thursday.
Excerpts:
You are 259 short of 7000 Test runs. Will that be a milestone?
I’m looking beyond that. The number of runs is a by-product of what you do for the team. People will talk about the number of runs I made after my career is over. For me, the number of match-winning innings I play for India will be more important.
For a player of your calibre, 14 centuries from 105 Tests seems a little too few.
It’s one of the things I’m not happy about. It’s got something to do with my batting position. I’ve had to bat at No.6 for the better part of my career, which meant batting with tail-enders on many occasions. That’s one reason why fifties were not converted into hundreds.
How frustrating is it to have India play such few Tests?
I wish I could play more Tests, but that’s how the international calendar is. Luckily, after the Tests in New Zealand, the IPL was followed by my stint with Lancashire, the Champions League and now the Ranji.