The great artist VVS Laxman may have retired from international cricket, but as well all know, he has decided to play on for Hyderabad at least for this season. A man, who has served the national cricket team with such distinction, was not obliged to do so. Had he decided to retire completely from cricket, no one would have questioned him. After all, he must be a tired man after all these years of travelling around the globe, representing the country on numerous tours. The fact that Laxman has chosen to continue playing Ranji Trophy for Hyderabad despite all the above mentioned aspects makes his decision highly commendable.
Here is someone, who has played 134 Tests for India, and yet wants to help out the youngsters in the Hyderabad side, instead of sitting back and resting on his laurels, which he deserves to. It just shows the kind of personality that VVS is, always thinking about the good scenario overall. People may claim that he retired because there were calls for his head. Here again, he walked away without any fuss, stating that his inner voice asked him to give a chance to a youngster. There was no anger, no bitterness, if anything a sense of disappointment at not having finished on a high.
It was not surprising that left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha decided to dedicate his first-innings five-for against New Zealand at Bangalore to the recently retired Laxman. Such is the kind of respect the man has within the team and in world cricket. Hyderabad cricket will be lucky to have Laxman around them, for however long he decides to continue playing for Hyderabad. That Laxman is ready to play in front of empty stadiums (most of them are for Ranji games these days) and in the company of unknown names, proves how much he loves the game and Hyderabad.
The retired legend clearly believes in the ‘give it back’ policy. As he stated during his retirement, when he was young a lot of the seniors in the Hyderabad side guided him. And now, he believes it’s his chance to do the same to the younger members of the side. Very few cricketers in today’s times of IPL and T20 would have such a dedicated mindset. Now we know why VVS is indeed special.
Unlike his stint with the Indian team, the number of runs Laxman scores for Hyderabad would not be as significant as the amount of knowledge and confidence he imparts to the rookies. It is not that difficult to score runs in first-class cricket, Laxman did that for years, but still took time to find his groove at the international level. What most of our domestic players lack is the aptitude to do well in challenging conditions. This is where Laxman will have a big role to play, in shaping the mindset of future stars in the positive direction.
--By A Cricket Analyst
