Siva's rollercoaster journey

Laxman Sivaramakrishnan is a former India spinner and currently works as a cricket commentator. Affectionately known as ‘Siva,’ he saw some great highs in his short career as an international cricketer, which came falling just as quickly.

Leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan. Image credits - CricTracker

Sivaramkrishnan’s origin story is a fascinating one. He was only twelve when he caught attention from the cricketing circuit. His 7/2 figures in a Madras inter-school championship game had sent a buzz around about this new mystery spinner. Little did that 12-year-old know that at the age of 15, he would get to tour with India’s Under-19 squad.

His first-class career began a year after that and Siva made a bold statement early on. In his debut game against Delhi, the quarter-final of the 1981-82 Ranji Trophy, Siva bagged the figures 7-28 and it took him only 11 overs to consolidate that. A couple of games later he got Sunil Gavaskar, the best Test batsman of that era, out with a googly.

The selectors were quick to notice his prowess with leg-spin and brought him for the Pakistan tour in 1982-83. He became the youngest Test cricketer at the time (17 years and 118 days old), only for Sachin Tendulkar to break his record 6 years later. He had quite an uneventful debut, going wicketless in both the innings, and was promptly dropped from the side. However, it wasn’t long before he bowled himself back in the side with an amazing spell of 4 for 27 against the visiting English cricket team for the India Under-25.

The narrative shifted drastically in his second Test match. Playing against England in Bombay, he bowled excellently and took 6-64 and 6-117 in the first and second innings respectively. These monumental bowling numbers helped India achieve their first Test win against England since 1981. The show wasn’t over yet as he picked 6 more wickets in the following Test in Delhi.

Siva’s leg-spin, especially at that time, was considered an obscure piece of art. He made the ball twirl and move irrationally, making it very difficult for the batsmen to read. His magic translated in ODI cricket as well, as he ended up taking the most wickets in the 1985 World Championship of Cricket.

A decline that came too soon

His promising beginnings gave out the impression of a much stronger, much deceptive spin bowling unit in the Indian contingency, but after the Benson and Hedges Cup, we witnessed a drop in form unprecedented at the time. The selection committee was hard on him too, in having to drop him after just 3 bad games in a row. Two botches in Australia and one more against Pakistan marked the end of his Test career.

His comeback in the 1987 World Cup didn’t make a strong case for him either. After 9 Tests and 16 ODIs, he decided that it was time to call it off. He made his debut as a commentator in the year 2000 and since then has been a voice behind many memorable moments of the game. Siva was appointed as the bowling coach for CSK’s 2018 IPL season, which they ended up winning.