Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan reminds me of Vivian Richards, says VVS Laxman.....

 Yusuf Pathan

A lot of things have been said and written about Yusuf Pathan, especially after his mind-boggling century against South Africa recently.

From being a fringe player, he has become a vital cog in the Indian wheel. He has always been an aggressive batsman, but VVS Laxman took him to an altogether different level when he said that the Baroda batsman reminded him of the great Vivian Richards.

For a batsman to be compared to Richards is similar to a techie being spoken of in the same breath as Steve Jobs.

It remains to be seen whether Pathan can emulate the gum-chewing West Indian, but Laxman surely thinks the 27-year-old is destined for greatness.

“He (Pathan) is unbelievable. The way he has batted against New Zealand and South Africa, he reminded me of Sir Viv Richards,” said Laxman, who was in Pune to conclude the ABIL Corporate Cricket Tournament.

“Yusuf is fearless and has a powerful game and the way he bats, he is surely a match-winner for the country. He is a destructive batsman and will be a crucial player in the World Cup,” Laxman said.

Laxman, who was liberal in his praise of Pathan, also showed faith in S Sreesanth, who has replaced the injured Praveen Kumar.

“It is very unfortunate that Praveen will miss the World Cup. At the same time, I feel Sreesanth is a good bowler and he has had a good stint in the last few series he played. So, we all hope that he will do well in the tournament,” said Laxman.

And like most experts, Laxman feels India will win the mega event. “We have a good team and I back them completely to win the cup. We have players who can win matches for the country and I can say that we will start as the favourites,” he said.

He went on, “Moreover, we have the advantage of playing in front of the home crowd, so that will also play a major role.” When asked about his favourite opening pair, Laxman said that it will be a tough call for the team management. “I feel all, Sachin (Tendulkar), Sehwag (Virender) and (Gautam) Gambhir are good at the position and it will be difficult for the management to take a call on it, but personally, I feel Sachin and Sehwag should be the ideal pair to open the innings,” he said.

Having given his thoughts on the Indian team and its chances in the World Cup, which he will not be a part of Laxman believes it will be one big vacuum in his career that he has never played in a World Cup. “I have played all formats of the game and almost 80 ODIs but what I miss is not having played in the World Cup. But I think that is a part and parcel of the game,” Laxman said.

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