The Sorcerer's Failed Spell

"Written when Laxman was omitted from India world cup squad in 07"

In a few weeks time Indian cricket team would have left for the far off shores to begin their world cup campaign. For every player boarding the flight there will be a few hopefuls left behind. Looking at that unfortunate list, your eyes will surely halt at one name. You will think that if this player has been left behind, then the Indian team must be an embarrassment of batting riches. You will be grossly mistaken. For in terms of batting pedigree and ability this man is in top 4-5 in the country. And in terms of artistry and genius, V V S Laxman sits next only to Sachin Tendulkar. If Azharuddin is the author of “Wristwork for dummies” then Laxman has been scripting “The Art of Wristy Batting” throughout his career. Yet this high art will not be on display in the biggest cricketing carnival. Laxman would finish his career without featuring in a single world cup out of the three (or four) that his career would span.

Laxman has always evoked in my mind an image on another man, a footballer. The playmaker from Argentina and VillaReal, Juan Roman Riquelme. Only a season ago he was at the peak of his powers and was being touted as a probable world player of the year soon. But today he has retired from International football and finds himself out of favor at villareal. Both these men are weaver of dreams exhibiting there own special brand of there sport. Artist’s heart caught in a sportsman’s body. Unfortunately also an artist’s Achille’s heel jutting out of an athletes foot. They suffer from something similar to writers block. There have been matches where riquelme has looked lost, not knowing what to do, searching for his muse. Similarly for laxman when the boundaries have dried, he does not take the option of smart singles, but keeps on hoping that the touch would return. But football and one day cricket moves at too fast a pace and a team carrying such a player on such a day would find the going hard. 

Just yesterday utility man Paul Collingwood showed what can be achieved with electric fielding and gutsy batting peppered with quick singles. For laxman these have been always been trouble areas. In spite of his claims that he has worked hard on these and has improved, on the international stage not much has changed. His running between the wickets remains as woeful as ever. And his favorite fielding position after the slips must be somewhere beyond the boundary ropes. These are the factors that have weighed against him and weakened his case. Hard done which we connoisseurs of his art might feel, we have to accept that there is some justification for his denial yet again. 

What we will not accept is if injustice is done in Test cricket, of which there were some indications last year. It is in the arena of Test Cricket, that laxman’s talent have blossomed. Therein he finds time and space to dream on and with slip being a crucial position is an important contributor in field too. We should not be denied of that. At least for next couple of years the graceful flick of the wand should keep on casting mesmerising spells.