VVS
Cricket

VVS Laxman: “My message to the top order is to bat fearlessly and express yourself.”

VVS Laxman, India’s stand-in head coach for the New Zealand tour in lieu of Rahul Dravid, stated on Thursday that the goal for the forthcoming three-match T20I series is to deploy specialised players.

India were defeated by eventual champions England by a 10-wicket margin in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup quarterfinal, with the squad attracting criticism for, among other things, erring in its approach. With their bold brand of cricket, England, who won their second T20 World Cup championship in Australia, have set the standard. They bat till number 11, and even without their star bowler Mark Wood, they still had seven bowling options in the match against Pakistan.

Prior to the New Zealand limited overs trip, Laxman told the media that T20 cricket needs players with a variety of skills. “In white ball cricket, you need specialist players and going forward, in T20 cricket, you will see a lot more T20 specialists. T20 cricket has shown us over the years that you need multi-dimensional cricketers,” said the current NCA chief before the opening T20I.

“We have bowlers who can bat and batters who can bowl. More number of bowlers who can bat allows the team to have depth and batters to have freedom to go out and express themselves. I think that’s the need of the hour and more and more teams will get that into their selection process and identify multi-dimensional players.”

He explained: “T20 cricket requires to play with a lot of freedom and clarity of thought and whatever time I have spent with these players and watch them grow in international cricket, that is their strength. It is important to play with that freedom but also you need to assess conditions and fulfill the needs of the team.”

Even though the next T20 World Cup isn’t for another two years, India will start fresh with its three matches against New Zealand before playing the same number of ODIs. Hardik Pandya, who will captain the team in Rohit Sharma’s absence, is expected to become the T20 team’s captain in the future. The other top-order batsmen rested for the series are Virat Kohli and K L Rahul. In addition, the 48-year-old stated that he wants the top order to bat boldly against New Zealand in the T20I series.

“We have a top order that has the capability to bat fearlessly. My message to the top order is to bat fearlessly and express yourself but also change your strategy as per game situation. Yes we don’t have KL, Rohit and Virat here but who are here are also experienced enough players,” he said.

Pandya, 29, received praise from Laxman for his leadership qualities and was told that the entire team was behind him. Laxman also discussed his coaching style and the use of data analysis in contemporary cricket.

“Pandya is a fabulous leader you know. Obviously, what he has done for Gujarat Titans in his first year of captaincy, winning the IPL isn’t a mean achievement and I have spent time with him from the Ireland series and not only is he tactically good, but also very calm and that is something very important when you play at the highest level,” said Laxman.

“There will be situations when you will be under pressure and there you will require to be calm. But also his presence in the dressing room and his work ethic is exemplary. Hardik is a players’ captain and is approachable and all the players go and confide in him,” he concluded.

 

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