Former cricketer V V S Laxman.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Batting great V V S Laxman hailed India's "resilience" while winning the recent T20 World Cup "from the jaws of defeat", and said the passionate celebration by players and former head coach Rahul Dravid exemplified the value of that triumph to them.
India won their first ICC trophy after 11 years and their second T20 title after 17 years when they beat South Africa by seven runs in the final in Barbados on June 29.
"The kind of finish we had after we were under pressure with South Africa batters needing 30 runs off 30 balls. And from there to show character, resilience and self-belief to pull off the match from the jaws of defeat, it shows the character of the entire team," Laxman said in a video posted by the BCCI on its 'X' handle.
"The amount of hard work they put in, the celebrations (by the players and support staff) told the bigger story behind this victory." The 49-year-old Laxman, who is currently heading the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, said the fervent celebrations by the team showed how much the victory meant to each of the players and the support staff.
"Obviously, it is a special feeling winning the World Cup. When you are playing against the best and win the trophy, it means a lot to all the players participating in the tournament."
"Everyone showed their emotions and it showed how much it meant to each and every player in the squad, as well as the support staff, the emotions were really high. You saw Hardik Pandya breaking down once he bowled the last delivery. You saw Rohit Sharma on the ground."
"The entire country is rejoicing this win. It was a special feeling keeping in mind we had come close (to winning the title) six months back (ODI World Cup). We should have won the 50-over World Cup, dominating the entire tournament but not being able to cross the final hurdle," he said.
Laxman made a special mention of the expressive celebration of Dravid, who generally abhors public show of emotions.
"Someone like Rahul with whom I have played so much cricket, knew him for so many years, but for him to show that emotions, first when the last ball was bowled and then the various conversations he was having with the team members and when he lifted the trophy.
"I thought it was a great gesture by Rohit and Virat Kohli to hand over the trophy to him (Dravid) and the way he celebrated by lifting the trophy, it showed how much it meant to each one of them," said Laxman who paired with Dravid in a memorable Test win against Australia in Kolkata in 2001 when they stitched that famous 376-run partnership after following-on.
Laxman, who has 8781 runs from 134 Tests at an average of 45.97, lauded captain Rohit, star batter Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for their contributions in the T20 format. The trio announced retirement from the T20Is after the T20 World Cup win.
"My message to these stalwarts of the game, Virat, Rohit and Ravindra Jadeja, an extremely talented player who has contributed immensely to the progress of the Indian team. Congratulations for the contributions you have made to this great game and set an example to the youngsters to follow. The passion and the pride with which they had played this game is exemplary.
"While they have retired from this format, I am sure they will continue to prepare the way they did so far in their career and continue to bring laurels to the country.
"Big congratulations for an excellent T20 career and I am sure they will continue to contribute in the longer version of the game and in the 50-over format."