Laxmi Ratan Shukla, the crisis man for Bengal cricket team

New Delhi, Jan 5 : Former Bengal cricketer and captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who quit as a West Bengal minister on Tuesday, was known as the crisis man for his state team during his playing days and “someone who would catch bull by the horns”.
Shukla, who represented India in three ODIs and played 137 first-class games mostly for Bengal, was the Youth Affairs and Sports Minister in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government.
Banerjee has said that he had quit to focus on sports activities although his departure has been deemed as a loss to the Trinamool Congress and has made big news.
“He is very popular here in Bengal. He has made himself popular and carved a niche for himself through stellar performances that always caught the eye. He is known as the crisis man. Whenever you perform in crisis, people know you more. He brought so much glory to the state, also represented KKR, did reasonably well there, he joined politics, became an MLA and now he become a MoS. It all adds up together, so he is popular,” says longtime Ranji Trophy teammate Sourasish Lahiri, who himself has played 100 first-class games and has known Shukla since the age of five.
The two played inter-district cricket together and later became teammates and roommates with Bengal team.
“He is aggressive and energetic, very, very upfront and he always wants to take the bull by the horns,” says Lahiri, a former off-spinner and one of the leading wickettakers for Bengal.