“Shepherding the tail - VVS Laxman”

Very few had the elegant grace of VVS Laxman in the world of Cricket, his sublime wrist work with an impeccable timing. Many a times, when the dasher (Veeru) is dazzled, when the wall (Dravid) is shattered, when the master (Sachin) is mastered, when the fighter (Sourav) is defeated, there remained a force to fight till then end & that was the gritty nature of Laxman. 

VVS Laxman was known to be a batsman who excelled in shepherding the tail and making it wag. Laxman was famously known as the 'God of the 4th innings' during his Test cricket career as many times he saved India from precarious situations with his match-winning partnerships with the ’bowlers’. He collaborated in as many as 10 half-century partnerships – including three with Anil Kumble and two apiece with Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma. The highest partnership he had with a tailender was the pivotal 81-run association with Ishant Sharma against Australia at Mohali, 2010. He also had match winning & memorable partnerships with Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh and Praghyan Ojha.

What did Laxman do special to grind out critical performances from those who were less skilled in their batting;

• First, he believed that bowlers can add Value to the team’s score. From the experts of his Autobiography - ”I used to give them strike to show my belief and trust their ability. And I used to tell them you are capable of scoring runs”.
• Secondly, he communicated his plans very clearly to the tailenders - ”They listened to me and translated it into performances. I gave them the confidence by giving them strike”.
• Third, Laxman helped the bowlers during the training by bowling to them in the nets - those days, bowlers get very less time to bat in the nets. 

The tail-enders took pride in their batting. ”Ashish (Nehra), in fact, he thought he was an all-rounder (Lol - crazy isnt it). I gave them the confidence by giving them strike. I would shield them but also show my faith in them. Slowly, they also started believing they could contribute with the bat”. Later on, Harbhajan (Singh) and Anil (Kumble) wet on to get centuries in Tests in their careers. 

He had some amazing partnerships with Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni but never underestimated the wagging tail of the Indian team - whenever he got into a situation to bat with the lower-order batsmen in his team, it was just like a normal partnership with the frontline batsman. VVS Laxman, spurred on by his immense creative imagination while accompanying lesser skilled men, frequently managed to excel in the final stages of the game. It is a question of making the best use of the situation. His knack of playing well with tailenders was crucial in enabling India pull off many wins from impossible situations.

Do you have teammates who are not up to your speed, skill set, could not cope up with your efficiency in delivering results? Do you see them as a burden or an excess baggage or a hindering force within the team? As a Manager, are you weighed down by the low performers?

Think about the superstars on your team. These are the employees who consistently go above and beyond without being asked. They're always looking for the next challenge, and when you hand it to them, they do an outstanding job. These are your "high performers." On the other hand, ”Low performers," do a good job, but only when they're encouraged, reminded and guided every step of the way. That's not to say that low performers are bad employees — they simply need a different type of leadership, companionship, encouragement, faith in their abilities and constant guidance. Know that a team for sure needs 5 batsmen, couple of all-rounders including a Wicket Keeper and for sure 4 bowlers to win matches - do not expect you to be served with all World Class batsmen / bowlers in your team. 

Let’s take a cue from the Very Very Special Laxman on how to hang in there with tailenders whenever needed - the Resolve of a great sportsman. He played along with the lower order batsmen, acting as a shield and yet managing to score valuable runs down the order. Maybe that is why Laxman did not have too many hundreds in Test cricket, but being the down-to-earth person, he has never complained about it once or bothered about his numbers.

#Resolve #Grit #TestCricket #Learningfromsports #Team #Nevergiveup #VVSLaxman #Indiancricket #Tailenders #Leadership