Young aspirants motivate: VVS

VVS Laxman, the man they called Very Very Special after his magical innings against the Australians at Eden Gardens...

VVS Laxman, the man they called Very Very Special after his magical innings against the Australians at Eden Gardens, was included in the India Test squad today for the series against Pakistan. And he is all set to take on the challenge against the arch-rivals.

Talking to The Indian Express, Laxman spoke about his preparations for the upcoming Test series, the competition for a middle-order slot in the Indian team, his experience with English county side Lancashire and his favourite hunting ground Australia.

Following are excerpts:

What are your plans for the Test series against Pakistan and how do you rate the Pak pacers, especially Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul?

A series against Pakistan is always important and there will be a lot on offer. I am expecting to do well. We have been playing well as a unit and of course the team will be eager to continue the good run in Test matches after the all-important series victory against England. Pakistan have good pace bowlers like Shoiab Akhtar and Umar Gul in their attack and it will be a nice contest between the bat and ball.

Straight after this is the series against Australia and your performances against Australia 167 and 178 at Sydney in 2000 and 2004 respectively, the phenomenal 281 at Eden Gardens in 2001, and 148 at Adelaide in 2003 are still remembered. Any plans against them?

Australia have always proved lucky for me and it has been a great experience playing against them. But now I am focussed on the Ranji matches, then the Pakistan series.

How does it feel to be part of the famed Indian middle order? What do you feel about the competition from youngsters now?

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It feels good to be part of the Test team for so many years. It8217;s good to have competition and I think it is important for the team to have a lot of youngsters knocking on the door. It motivates senior players to do well. Its good to see Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni take up responsibility well.

How was the experience at Lancashire?

I was free after India8217;s Test series against England and so I thought of playing in the English county season. Lancashire approached me and I played for six week for them in LV Division one. It was a good experience as I managed to average 56 in four-day matches and more than 80 in one-day matches.