Having been ignored from India's one-day cricket squad for the last two tournaments, stylish batsman V V S Laxman is determined to fight his way back into the team by working on his game and fitness.
"It is off season and two-and-a-half month time is good time to work on the fitness and my game. I will use it for that," Laxman, who has agreed to be the brand ambassador for the Association for Cricket for Blind in India, said in Laxman, whose last ODI assignment was the BCCI Platinum Jubilee match against Pakistan at Kolkata in November where he made 43 off 44 balls, was left out of the ODI team for the series against Bangladesh in December and against Pakistan this month.
"It is disappointing, definitely. That is because I have won matches for India. It's difficult for me that I am not in the ODI team. Hopefully I'll come back," the Hyderabad batsman, who scored 107 against Pakistan in the fifth and last ODI in Lahore last year, said.
Laxman was speaking on the sidelines of the first one-day international match between blind players of India and Pakistan at the Jamia Milia grounds.
When asked why was he being kept out of the shorter version of the game, Laxman said "I always go with the mindset to win the match for the country. You should ask the selectors about it".
Laxman also supported the struggling Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, who made only 48 runs in the last three Tests and 31 runs in four ODIs against Pakistan during the recent home series.
"Players go through such rough patches and they also overcome them. Sourav will come back too," he said.
The 31-year-old also spoke in favour of another foreign replacement after John Wright recently ended his tenure as coach of the Indian team. "Wright had a great impact on Indian cricket team and I don't see any reason why a foreign coach can't be brought in again," he said.
Regarding his role as the ACBI brand amabssador, he said it was not yet finalised. "It is not yet finalised...But I'll spread awareness about this kind of cricket," Laxman said adding that it was a great feeling to be a part of the noble cause.
"They are exhibiting a huge fighting spirit, we have to take inspiration from all of them," he said congratulating the Indian Blind team which won the first match against Pakistan.
Laxman appreciated the organisers' decision to make the series an annual affair but said it was "not a revenge series".
