ANIMATED DISCUSSION : Sri Lankan cricketer Aravinda D'silva (left) and V.V.S.Laxman visit Hyderabad Cricket Association ground in the city on Saturday .- Photo: G. Krishnaswamy

HYDERABAD: When one of the all-time greats, Sri Lankan Aravinda de Silva met Hyderabad's very own V. V. S. Laxman, it was class meeting class at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium (Uppal) on Saturday. Thanks to the initiative of L.V. Subrahmanyam, a senior IAS officer, the two cricketers, who are synonymous with style and grace, shared a few ideas.

Laxman took de Silva around (in the company of D.S. Chalapathi, joint-secretary of HCA, and L.V. Subrahmanyam) and explained to him the salient features of the stadium, which impressed the Sri Lankan great, who was here on a private visit.

Words of wisdom

Interestingly, Laxman turned a scribe, quizzing the star batsman from Lanka and also urging his teammates to listen to words of wisdom from de Silva. "What is your advice to these young cricketers before a big season ahead?" was Laxman's query. "There is no substitute for hard work and commitment. And, then you have to have immense self-belief to do the job that is expected of you. Don't be afraid of failure," pat came the reply from de Silva.

A visibly delighted de Silva, on seeing the world-class gym at the stadium adjacent to a swimming pool, stressed on the importance of systematic physical conditioning. "When I started playing Test cricket in 1984, all that we did was to do about 40 roundsand no training of this kind. But, I tell you, this is equally important as playing on the field.Physical conditioning ensures strength and endurance. Cricket is power game now," he told the attentive Hyderabad cricketers.

Game plan

On the 1996 World Cup which they won, de Silva said they had a game plan one year in advance for the event. "The role of each cricketer was clearly defined. So we knew what exactly to do and when," he said. "This is the problem with Indians now. There is too much of shuffling around," he remarked, bringing smiles on Laxman's face. And, more significantly for the Hyderabadi, de Silva ridiculed the stress on fielding in selection saying that you cannot have 11 good fielders sacrificing the best batsmen.

"You have to strike a perfect balance in the team. I don't think why Laxman should not figure in the one-day squad given his class and success rate against the teams like Australia," he said.

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