The man with a seemingly soft exterior had steel in his bones. At troubled times, he was a sea of equanimity. The graceful right-hander absorbed pressure in the middle, altered scripts. And he did so with timing and elegance, finding the gaps with a surgeon’s precision.
V.V.S. Laxman, India’s man for crisis situations, bid adieu to international cricket in Hyderabad on Saturday. Although named in the Test squad against New Zealand, the 37-year-old, listening to his inner voice, decided to leave the scene ahead of the series opener in his home city. The first Test begins on August 23.
The feature of Laxman’s batting was his ability to pick the length early and play the ball late. He could get on top of the bounce, essay the horizontal bat shots capably. This explains his 1,236 runs in 15 Tests at 52.28 on the bouncy tracks — and against formidable pace attacks — of Australia.
He was a tad vulnerable while coping with quality swing because of a footwork that could be sluggish on occasions. Laxman could, however, make up for the shortcoming due to his hand-eye coordination and the ability to meet the ball with the sweet portion of his willow.
Laxman came under fire lately for his lacklustre performances on the tours of England and Australia in 2011-12, yet he averaged 67.07 in 2010 and 40.68 in 2011, his last two full years in international cricket.
At his peak, he could conjure magic, create epics. His immortal series-turning 281 against Australia at the Eden Gardens in 2001, is now stuff of folklore. He could don the cloak of a game changer, soak up the stress, and inspire even tailenders.
These match-winners…they are a rare breed. Laxman, of dexterous wrists and infinite charm, will be missed.
Keywords: V.V.S. Laxman, Laxman retirement, Test cricket
VVS was the greatest batsman to have played against Australia certainly the best Indian Batsman to have played gainst that countary. His epic 281 turned around Indian Cricket at a critical juncture which gave an aura of world beaters to an otherwise ordinary team, notwithstading the hype around Tendulkar,which carries more or less to this day.
Laxman was a treat to watch. So beautiful was his timing of the cricket ball - you wish to see the crisp and beautiful shots again and again. All Test playing countries had a special respect for the great man. His retirement is a big loss and Indian cricket needs to groom a talent to fill the void created. We wish a great post retirement career for Laxman and hope he will share his experiences and nurture talents to support Indian cricket. We thank you a lot.
we miss u alot laxman(very very special)
Will miss you VVS.
V V S Laxman has taken the right decision at the right time. He was a cricketer of outstanding ability and almost on all occasions he performed well. Had we made efforts to provide lively pitches in India, we would have seen more number of batsmen like him. Unfortunately, we still do not make pitches which help pace bowlers.
Secondly, one big regret is that all the fabulous four (DRAVID, TENDULKAR, GANGULY and LAXMAN) could have together won many more matches for Team India because had all of them scored runs in the same match on many more occasions. Statistics tell us that one or more of the four failed to score runs when one of them did well. Also, our bowlers failed to perform to their potential in trying circumstances.
Best wishes to Laxman for a happy post retirement life!
Now it would be tough time for Indian Test cricket with retirement of "Great Wall" Rahul Dravid and "Stylish" batsman V.V.S Laxman.Let us see how the Indian cricket team will play in test matches with new players in upcoming series....
VVS' batting against Australia, at Eden Garders - converting a follow on situation in to an eventual match winning one - was an epic performance.
I wish him good luck. I also wish if he and Ganguli had well-wisher in
MCA and BCCI like Sachin Tendulkar has.
One of the greatest match winners of all time.Most of the match winners (Steve
waugh, ponting..) are grinders, not VVS
One of the most elegant Batsmen and a wristy player who never depended on mere muscles and power play. Well we will miss U but respect your decision to quit. India will surely miss the late order batsman who would forge partnerships with tail enders many a time to pull out sensational victories for India. A Non controversial committed cricketer gentleman like Dravid. Though he played constantly under pressure to keep his place, he was a match winner especially with his 4th Innings magic unlike his contemporary master blaster who plays purely for records whose match winning/saving knocks can be counted in fingers. Perhaps he would have played his farewell Test In Hyderabad had he got support from Cricket bosses and his captain Dhoni.It was not to be as is the case for many a South Indian Cricketer. But what prompted his Sudden announcement when he was picked for NZ series is a mystery. Perhaps he was hurt and humiliated bythe attitude of the selectors!!Good bye and Good Luck VVS!NNKumar
end of an era and huge loss to indian cricket ater the retirement of
rahul dravid.
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