I was a great fan of VVS Laxman: Zaheer Abbas

Hyderabad: A wristy player during his playing days, the current ICC president Zaheer Abbas on Wednesday said that he was a great fan of Hyderabadi stylist VVS Laxman for his artistic batting.

Abbas has been in Hyderabad for the last few days on invitation from the Hyderabad Cricket Association to watch the Moin ud Dowla Gold Cup cricket tournament.

"I have been a great fan of Laxman. When he used to bat, I would make sure that I will be near the TV set. The way he hammered the Australian team (in 2001), not many have done that. I am great fan of yours, sir," Abbas paid compliments with Laxman seated alongside him.

Abbas also found the Moin ud Dowla format of 90 and 40 overs to be an interesting one.

"First time, I heard that's a tournament for 90 overs and 40 overs. Well, in 90 overs, you can easily make a century without any problem. But, 40 overs, if you are the opening batsman or number three, you can go for 100. But it's a good sort of a format. At least you are playing one day 90-90 overs and 40-40 overs. Because, nowadays, T20 is more popular than any other game," he said.

Laxman said Moin-ud-Dowlah provides a platform for experienced players to showcase their talent and the young players to play against some of the best players in the country.

He complimented Hyderabad player Anirudh for setting up a record in Moin-ud-Dowlah by scoring three consecutive centuries.

He recalled that his performance in the Moin-ud-Dowlah gave confidence to him before before he made his first class debut. Laxman also praised the curator Chandrasekhar and ground staff for their efforts against the rains lashing the city in the last few days.