Laxman calls for 'smart preparation' for overseas tours

VVS Laxman, the former India batsman, has advocated the use of spinning pitches in India, and "smart preparation" before the team travels overseas for tours. Laxman, speaking at the Pataudi Memorial Lecture in Kolkata on Wednesday, said the team should "strive to be consistently successful" away from home.

"In an ideal world, before we travel to Australia or South Africa, we would spend weeks together in camps, honing techniques against the bouncing ball or working out the lengths that are optimal for surfaces with pace and bounce," he said. "But we do not live in an ideal world, what with tours packed into the calendar.

"Given that our first-class season these days starts in November, players are exposed to different conditions in various parts of India. In the north, the ball darts around in the winter and tests the technical expertise of the batsmen. Unfortunately, due to the packed international calendar, the national team players don't always get to play first-class cricket.

"So today, we need to substitute extensive preparation with smart preparation. I am a great believer in playing to our strengths and maximising home advantage."

The key to doing that, Laxman said, was, of course, producing pitches that aided spinners. "We must continue to play international cricket on pitches that suit our traditional strength, which is spin," he said, adding that that does not mean India should not work on bettering their pace prospects. He said that could be done by pinpointing venues that will help the fast bowlers hone their skills, and these venues should be put to use before overseas tours.

"We must also identify at least one venue in each zone of where we can replicate surfaces we are most likely to find encounter overseas," he said. "In that way we can have proper preparatory camps in such venues before going on tour."

Following a period of promising Test performances overseas, India's results in such series have fallen away drastically over the past three years. After a hard-fought drawn series in South Africa in December 2010-January 2011, and a win in West Indies in June-July 2011, India have lost 13 off 17 overseas Tests. That includes the whitewashes in England and Australia later that year, and the 3-1 loss to England this summer - a particularly disheartening showing, given the team fared so dismally in the final three Tests after taking the lead at Lord's.

"It is imperative that we prepare for overseas visits with diligence and intelligence," Laxman said, reminding the Indian team, which was in attendance for his speech, that there was no satisfaction like that gained from winning away Tests. "Performances at home can't be devalued, but I can say from experience that the roles I played in India's victories overseas have given me the greatest satisfaction. As a team, we must strive to be consistently successful when we travel away from our comfort zone."