VVS Laxman recollects the incident when Sourav Ganguly took his shirt off at the Lord's

Talk about legendary middle order batsmen to have taken the field in Test cricket, the discussion is incomplete if VVS Laxman’s is not getting a mention, such is the legacy he has left behind. With those two amazing wrists of his, Laxman managed to flick away every adversity he faced as a batsman and many even rate him as the best Number 6 batsman ever in Tests.

In a candid chat with Gaurav Kapur on the show “Breakfast with Champions”, Laxman opened up on few of the uncharted stories of Indian cricket. Talk about famous tales from Indian cricket, Sourav Ganguly’s celebration after the NatWest series final in 2002 is certainly one of the most memorable instances.

India had chased down a humongous 326-run target in the most dramatic way possible, courtesy two brilliant knocks from youngsters Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif. Laxman revealed a very interesting detail about the game noting that he actually tried to stop Ganguly from taking his shirt off.

Ganguly narrates the story the other way round: Laxman

One of the main reasons why Ganguly took his shirt off was Andrew Flintoff, the former English all-rounder. Flintoff had removed his shirt and celebrated England’s win at the Wankhede a year before, which persuaded Ganguly to do the same. When Ganguly was asked if it was right to do so in a prestigious ground like Lord’s, he famously replied telling even Wankhede is holy for the Indians.

Laxman said in the interview that Ganguly narrates the story the other way round, telling people that Laxman asked him to take the shirt off. Nevertheless, one cannot deny that it was one of the most memorable moments in Indian cricket history.

“Sourav (Ganguly) these days is telling people that I persuaded him to take the shirt off. Most of us know why he did it (Referring to Flintoff’s celebration at the Wankhede). When we think about it, it was a statement made by Sourav that Wankhede is holy for the Indians, just how Lord’s is for them. We got to know the heart of the story later,” Laxman said.

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