How growing two-and-a-half inches caused Laxman Sivaramakrishnan to lose form and affect performance

A spinner who showed plenty of promise since the age of 14, when he played for India Under-19 and went on to make his Test debut as a 17-year-old, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan losing his way in the cricketing field has been a big puzzle.

Despite having a strong start to his international career, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan last played for India when he was 21. The 1987 World Cup on home soil where he played two matches against New Zealand and Zimbabwe, happened to be his last as he lost his spot in the team and never came close to taking it back.

A spinner who showed plenty of promise since the age of 14, when he played for India Under-19 and went on to make his Test debut as a 17-year-old, Sivaramakrishnan losing his way in the cricketing field has been a big puzzle. And the 60-year-old has said how growing two and a half inches taller brought an unexpected twist to his career.

“In the 1987 World Cup in India, I was bowling a lot of full tosses. I got on the team when I was 16 and those were growing years for any boy or girl. At that age, 16 to 18 or 19, you keep growing. So I had probably shot up about 2 to 2.5 inches. Because I had grown taller, and my point of release as a 16-year-old and a 19-year-old was the same,” Sivaramakrishnan tells The Indian Express.

What it caused was, the deliveries that he intended to land on good length ended up being fuller or full-tosses. “When I had grown taller, obviously when I released it from the same position, it was going to travel further. So instead of good length, it was going full toss or over pitch deliveries. If anybody at that point in time with their experience had told me that I had to change my point of release, I would have probably done that,” he says.

With India not having coaches and there is not enough use of the bio-mechanics, Sivaramakrishnan says he kept repeating the same mistake. “Since everything becomes a habit over a period of time, whether it’s a good habit or a bad habit, you kept doing it for three hours, releasing the ball from the same position in the nets, and it being on the fuller side, fuller side, fuller side, and you not knowing what is it that you’re doing wrong. Because you’re releasing the ball from the same position, but the length is different. And there was no guidance, no help. So it became a habit, the point of release. So the full tosses became more and more,” he adds.

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Despite having a strong start to his international career, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan last played for India when he was 21. The 1987 World Cup on home soil where he played two matches against New Zealand and Zimbabwe, happened to be his last as he lost his spot in the team and never came close to taking it back.

A spinner who showed plenty of promise since the age of 14, when he played for India Under-19 and went on to make his Test debut as a 17-year-old, Sivaramakrishnan losing his way in the cricketing field has been a big puzzle. And the 60-year-old has said how growing two and a half inches taller brought an unexpected twist to his career.

“In the 1987 World Cup in India, I was bowling a lot of full tosses. I got on the team when I was 16 and those were growing years for any boy or girl. At that age, 16 to 18 or 19, you keep growing. So I had probably shot up about 2 to 2.5 inches. Because I had grown taller, and my point of release as a 16-year-old and a 19-year-old was the same,” Sivaramakrishnan tells The Indian Express.

What it caused was, the deliveries that he intended to land on good length ended up being fuller or full-tosses. “When I had grown taller, obviously when I released it from the same position, it was going to travel further. So instead of good length, it was going full toss or over pitch deliveries. If anybody at that point in time with their experience had told me that I had to change my point of release, I would have probably done that,” he says.

With India not having coaches and there is not enough use of the bio-mechanics, Sivaramakrishnan says he kept repeating the same mistake. “Since everything becomes a habit over a period of time, whether it’s a good habit or a bad habit, you kept doing it for three hours, releasing the ball from the same position in the nets, and it being on the fuller side, fuller side, fuller side, and you not knowing what is it that you’re doing wrong. Because you’re releasing the ball from the same position, but the length is different. And there was no guidance, no help. So it became a habit, the point of release. So the full tosses became more and more,” he adds.