V.V.S. Laxman’s presence at the Civil Lines venue of the Vidarbha Cricket Association surprised many, but not the Bengal batsmen. They were thrilled that the former India middle-order legend was in the thick of action in the team nets on Monday morning.
The Cricket Association of Bengal called up its batting consultant to the Orange city, and Laxman spent most of the four-hour session deploying the side-arm for throw-downs at batsmen.
It was a request from CAB President Sourav Ganguly that has resulted in Laxman being part of Bengal’s preparation for the match against Mumbai.
“It’s nice of him (Laxman) to come here. He’s been a big influence on our batting group this season,” said Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary. “We didn’t do well as a batting group in the last two games, but he has made sure that we all stick together and focus on the task at hand now.
“He has seen the videos of the way our batsmen got out in the previous matches, and yesterday, he had a brief chat with the batters. He mentioned a few points; it was positive and the boys have understood what he has said. Today we looked a different group at the nets, with positive vibes flowing in the team.
“He was also happy with whatever we were doing.”
