Recognition from the past

He requested for a photograph with Laxman at the media conference today. It’s been long since the two got together on one stage, but there was a time when Laxman and the Indian team administrative-cum-media manager MV Sridhar had shared many long hours together — at the crease, scoring big hundreds and rescuing Hyderabad. Sridhar was Laxman’s skipper for a long time, and it was under him that VVS blossomed as a batsman in the Hyderabad team. “Yes Laxman has played a lot under my captaincy and I know him since his u-19 days when I first saw him making it through the ranks into the state team,” he says. Sridhar remembers during one of their century-partnerships when he also stood like a mere spectator like Dravid did today. “We have had a few century partnerships and it was so easy bating with him. I used to always advise him against curbing his strokeplay and then I would just watch,” he adds with a smile. Laxman at a distance, stood nodding his head with a broader smile on his face.