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September 10, 1997
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The Cricket Interview/Laxman Sivaramakrishnan
"Right now, I am batting, bowling and fielding well -- so why not?"
He is first spotted -- dusky, gangly -- almost skinny -- at the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, Madras.
At the time, he is engaged in earnest consultation with the Australian physio accompanying the Australian Cricket Academy's junior team on a tour of Madras. "Been having a slight calf strain, so since the Aussie physio is here anyway, I figured I would take a couple of tips from him," Laxman Sivaramakrishnan -- "Siva" to commentators unable to twist their tongues around the full version of his name, and to his fans, alike -- says later.
The next sight of him is in the practise nets behind the stadium proper -- and it is like time has frozen in its tracks for a spell. The same easy lope to the wicket. The same languid delivery stride, the right arm high, the body perfectly side on, the ball released easily and in a deceptive loop to pitch around off and turn sharply away. It is a throwback to Australia 1985 and the Benson & Hedges World Championship -- where, at a time when Shane Warne was learning the basics of his craft, Siva defied the pundits who claimed that spinners -- especially of the notoriously less accurate leg variety -- have no place in the unforgiving cauldron of one day cricket.
It is at his home, in a quiet residential area of central Madras, that he finally settles down for a chat. It's a new home, this -- as evidenced by the fresh smell of paint, the factory-fresh look of the furniture, the glisten of the varnish on the ubiquitous 'showcase' that holds, among other cricketing trophies, the ball with which he took six wickets in the England second innings at Bombay, in 1984, to give India a long-awaited Test win. And, of course, the B&H World Championships' official souvenir -- a Gunn&Moore bat studded with the autographs of all participating players.
Siva is an easy talker, his trademark smile a sudden display of startling white teeth against his dusky skin. "I stopped smoking about six months back but you are welcome," he smiles, offering the cup of filter coffee that is pretty much a ritual of hospitality in Tamil Nadu.
Excerpts from his conversation with Prem Panicker:
You were, what, 17 years 118 days when you made it to the Indian side? How did you crack the big time that young?
I was in school -- Vidya Mandir, in Madras -- when I was picked for the Under-19 squad. I was under-15 at the time, actually. Ended up touring with the India Under-22 squad, to Sri Lanka and England when Ravi Shastri was the captain. That led to being picked for the Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy team in the 1980-1981 season, and I got to play for the first time in the knockout match against Delhi, which had Chetan Chauhan, Raman Lamba, Mohinder Amarnath, Surinder Amarnath, Kirti Azad, the works. We lost, but I got 9 wickets in the match and that propelled me, after just the one game, into the Duleep Trophy squad for the South Zone versus West Zone game.
Again, West had a strong batting line-up, Gavaskar, Shastri, Anshuman Gaikwad, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sandeep Patel.... and again, I got 5/63 in the second innings including Sunny's wicket. He was the national captain then, and for him to acknowledge my bowling in that game put me on the fast track, I guess. Anyway, that performance won me a berth for the Irani Trophy, Rest versus Delhi, and again, I got four wickets, good ones -- which led to my being picked for the 1982-1983 tour of Pakistan. It's funny when you put it that way, actually -- like Solomon Grundy almost. One Ranji game got me a Duleep berth, one Duleep game got me an Irani Trophy outing, and that in turn got me into the national side.
At all of 17 years. In retrospect, do you reckon you were too young? That maybe you didn't need that kind of pressure that early in your cricketing life?
No, not really. To put that in perspective, we must remember that in India, players are blooded young, but they are also dropped pretty early. If you have a bad patch at 25, say, it's okay -- but you have a bad patch at 30 and they say you are over the hill, and drop you immediately and for keeps. As for pressure, well, bowling to Sunny, Vengsarkar, Mohinder, Ravi Shastri, that's like as much pressure as you want, they were all international quality batsmen of the highest class, so I guess it kind of readies you for a shot at the international batsmen. Frankly, I didn't feel any pressure.
But despite being picked that young, you didn't get a game on that first tour, did you?
No. There was Dilip Doshi in the side, also Ravi Shastri. And Maninder Singh was also in the squad. The wickets were pretty fast so mostly we played two spinners and that was Dilip and Ravi and when a third spinner was needed, there was Maninder. I played all the tour games though -- and bowling to the likes of Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Raja and Javed Miandad was a great learning experience. In retrospect, I think it was good for me that I didn't play in that debut tour -- I got a chance to get used to the pressures of top flight cricket a bit more gradually than happens these days.
Your first Test outing was in the 1983 tour of the West Indies -- traditionally, the toughest of cricket tours. What kind of memories do you have of that outing?
Actually, there wasn't much to tell about that tour -- I debuted in the fifth Test at Antigua, when the West Indies were already leading 2-0. It was a batting track, both teams put up big scores (For the record, India batted first and got 457 with Shastri cracking a century and Kapil 98, then the West Indies made 550 with Greenidge, Haynes, Dujon and Lloyd among the century makers, and India in reply declared at 247 for five, Mohinder Amarnath weighing in with a ton, when the match was abandoned). For myself, I bowled 25 overs for 95 runs and went wicketless, got 17 with the bat.
Memories? The most enduring one is that of Gordon Greenidge, batting on and on, putting up a partnership of 296 with Des Haynes for the first wicket -- and all the time, his daughter was critically ill. Periodically they would bring him updates about how she was doing, out there to the middle, and he would grit his teeth and bat on... till he finally just retired after scoring 150-odd to rush to her bedside. I remember Greenidge's innings for courage under pressure -- a fantastic effort...
After which, you were not picked for the next two, three tours, right? And you missed the 1983 World Cup as well...?
Yeah, I wasn't picked when Pakistan and West Indies came on reciprocal tours, here -- stayed in the reserves for those. Like I said, with Dilip Doshi and Ravi Shastri in the side and Maninder at the top of the waiting list, I didn't have much chance. Same with the World Cup -- for English conditions, they preferred to go with seamers and seaming all-rounders, not spinners.
So your first full term with the Indian side was which?
The 1984-'85 tour by England under David Gower, when I played all the Tests, ended up with 23 wickets and was named Man of the Series. Memories? The first Test in Bombay, really -- India had gone for a long time without a Test win, and we ended that drought in this Test, which was very satisfying. And I ended up with 6/64 in the first innings and 6/117 in the second, so there was personal satisfaction as well.
Which in turn led to the B & H World Championships in Australia -- and what, for that time, was the innovative use of a specialist leg-spinner in a limited overs context. How did that come about? I mean, did it just happen, or was it part of preconceived strategy?
Actually, England and India played five ODIs on that tour (The final scoreline was 4-1 in favour of England and I wasn't picked for any of them.
Sunny Gavaskar, who was to lead India to Australia for the B&H World Championships, was the man who got me into that squad. I remember at the time there was a lot of media speculation about how effective a spinner, that too an attacking bowler would be in a limited overs situation. The thinking was, batsmen can hit spinners over the top easier than they can hit medium pacers. But Sunny had a different point of view -- his thinking was, it didn't matter if I went for 45, 50 runs in my ten overs, so long as I picked up two, three wickets during the period between the 20th and 40th overs. He argued that if in the middle overs we picked up wickets, then when it came to the slog, the main batsmen would be back in the pavilion and we could attack the tail.
And it worked out just fine -- my first game was against Pakistan, and in ten overs I got two for 49 including Zaheer Abbas and Qasim Omar. After that, I never went for more than 40 runs -- and if you remember, no team barring New Zealand ever got above 200 against us in that competition. And in the final, against Pakistan, I was even given the last over to bowl -- which, at that time, was unheard of for a spinner.
(Capsule scorecards of that tournament, with Sivaramakrishnan's analysis appended, are as follows: Game 1: Pakistan 183 all out in 49.2 overs, India 184 for four in 45.5 overs, Siva: 10-0-49-2; Game 2: India 235 for 9 in 50 overs, England all out 149 in 41.4, Siva: 10-0-39-3; Game 3: Australia 163 all out in 49.3 overs, India 165 for two in 36.1 overs, Siva: 10-0-32-2; Semifinal: New Zealand 206 all out in 50 overs, India 207 for three in 43.3, Siva: 9-1-31-0; Final: Pakistan 176 for 9 in 50 overs, India 177 for two in 47.1 overs, Siva: 9-0-35-3.
To what would you trace the success of that team, and of your bowling?
It was a very good all-round side, we had strokeplayers like Srikkanth, Azhar, Kapil, Gavaskar himself batting down the order, Shastri anchoring, Vengsarkar and Mohinder strong in the middle. And in bowling we had Kapil, Binny, Madan Lal, Mohinder, Shastri and me bowling spin. But I think the real strength was the fielding -- Sunny kept drilling into us that a run saved was one run we didn't have to go out there and get. In fact, during the tournament, he never minded if one of us missed a batting or bowling practise session - but he would not tolerate any of us missing the fielding practise. So all of us were pretty gee-ed up in the field, racing in, stopping singles... and when you are bowling, that kind of backup in the field increases your confidence, helps you hold an attacking line.
For me personally? I would again say that the advantages were having a good fielding side backing me, and enjoying the captain's confidence. He never, irrespective of the situation, asked me to bowl defensively -- throughout, I was used as an attacking, wicket-taking bowler in the middle overs, he always told me not to worry if they hit a four or two, to keep attacking... that kind of thing is an enormous boost, and it also helps to have a captain very sure of what he wants, and prepared to back you to the limit.
One other thing I would mention, especially in today's context, is we played a lot less cricket then, so it was easier to maintain fitness levels than it is today.
Oh yes, the 'too much cricket' argument. Sounds illogical, doesn't it? I mean, you exercise once a day, not once a week. Why then is playing once a week preferable to playing once a day?
Simply because when you exercise, work out, you are building up muscle tissue, lung capacity, fitness levels. You feel good after a workout, physically -- and as a result your mental edge is also keener. When you play -- that too a limited overs game -- you are spending muscle tissue, and at the end of the game you are drained both physically and mentally. So if you play every other day, you don't have the time to recoup the fitness reserves, even the mental energy, you spent in the last game.
Okay, taking that argument -- the Indian team seemed to be at a peak then... the World Cup, the B&H trophy, Rothmans' Trophy in Sharjah... and that too with the captaincy not settled. What gave the side such a high degree of consistency, do you think?
True, the captaincy rotated between Kapil for the World Cup and Rothman's Cup and Sunny for the B&H. But both led from the front, so that was never a real issue. I guess the real key is, when a team is winning, things are different. You go in fighting, thinking you have a chance to win. Like in the World Cup -- just before that, the Indian side had won in the limited overs format in the West Indies -- so right in the first game of the World Cup, when the two teams met, it wasn't like India was going in there thinking heck, this is the world champions, we can't beat them. The attitude is more like, we've beaten them before, we can beat them again.
And when you are losing the reverse is true -- each game, you go in feeling more scared of losing than in expectation of a win. I guess the classic case was the first game of the Rothman's Cup in Sharjah, against Pakistan. Sharjah has always been a tough venue, that too when playing Pakistan. And in our innings, we got bowled out for just 125 runs.
During the break, Kapil got us together and said, look, if they can bowl us out so can we, anyway there is no point defending, so let's go out there and attack those guys. Which was exactly what we did -- Binny got an early wicket, then Shastri and I chipped in with a couple each, and Kapil came back to take three more -- we ended up getting Pakistan bowled out for 87. I guess it underlines the real key to winning -- it's in the mind, a team that goes out fighting always has a good chance of winning more than it loses. And that was what the Indian team was like during that phase.
"I lost the attacking edge to my bowling"
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