The wily leg-spinner was India’s star performer with the ball in the tournament. His ten wickets were one of the principal contributors in India winning the prestigious title.
During a discussion on Sports Today, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan was asked to share some interesting anecdotes about the 1985 World Championship of Cricket.
Siva, as he is fondly called, revealed he was not even given a chance to bowl in a limited-over club game the day the Indian team was selected.
Laxman Sivaramakrishnan disclosed he was pleasantly surprised when told about his selection in the Indian team for the tournament.
He even recalled Ravi Shastri telling him on the flight to Australia that it was probably an acclimatization tour for him before the Test series there later that year.
“Sunil Gavaskar asked me what field I wanted to bowl with” - Laxman Sivaramakrishnan
Laxman Sivaramakrishnan recollected then-Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar telling him not to practice his variations at the nets with prying cameras on the lookout for them.
The leg-spinner added that he was taken by surprise when Gavaskar asked him to tell his preferred field settings while having lunch on the day before the first encounter.
Laxman Sivaramakrishnan highlighted Sunil Gavaskar was a perfect skipper for a leg-spinner like him, much the same as Sourav Ganguly was for Anil Kumble.
Laxman Sivaramakrishnan signed off by pointing out that Gavaskar’s only ask from Ravi Shastri and him was to snare wickets in the middle overs, even if they proved to be slightly expensive.
Ravi Shastri walked away with the Player of the Tournament award for all his all-round performance in the 1985 World Championship of Cricket. But Laxman Sivaramakrishnan played a significant role in India’s triumph as he finished as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with 10 scalps to his name at an excellent average of 18.60.
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