By BV Swagath
Stylish Hyderabadi batsman VVS Laxman is all set to bid goodbye to International Cricket. The 37-year-old wristy right-hander would be officially announcing his retirement at a press conference today around 4:00 PM at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
While Laxman’s decision to retire has been confirmed, it’s not exactly sure whether he would quit after the 1st Test which is at his home city Hyderabad or the 2nd Test at Bangalore. Ideally, it would be appropriate if Laxman plays his farewell match for India infront of his home crowd in Hyderabad but the Selectors had also named him for the Second and Final Test.
The pressure has been piling up on VVS Laxman ever since the disastrous tour of Australia, and in particular after the retirement of Rahul Dravid. Laxman decided not to retire at that time and was gearing up to play against New Zealand by turning out in Hyderabad League Cricket and a couple of other All-India tournaments. However, a change of mind seemed to have occurred in Laxman following several critics questioning the 37-year-old veteran’s utility in the Test Team ahead of several youngsters.
Laxman for the record has 17 centuries and 56 fifties in 134 Tests till date with a superb average of 45.97. His highest score is 281 which is one of the best ever knock in the history of Test Cricket as it came when his Team was following on after facing a huge first innings deficit against the then World No.1 team Australia. Laxman, who made his Test debut in 1996 at Ahmedabad against South Africa has gone on to play several match winning and match saving knocks for India in the 16 years gone by.
Out of the many crucial knocks he has played apart from the 281, one remarkable knock from VVS Laxman that is fresh in the minds of cricket fans was against the Aussies at Mohali in 2010 when he scored a superb 73 not out from just 79 balls to help India pull off a stunning victory chasing 216. Laxman with the help of the no.10 Ishant Sharma and no.11 Pragyan Ojha took India to victory despite the hosts getting reduced to 122 for 7 in the run chase.
VVS Laxman has been branded as a Test specialist over the years and it’s a pity that despite a long international career, he couldn’t play in a single World Cup! The Hyderabadi was confined to 86 ODIs in which he scored 6 centuries and 10 fifties at a modest average of 30.76. There was no doubt that he wasn’t an ideal batsman for ODIs as he lacked the big-hitting ability and his fielding was always on the heavier side. Laxman’s last ODI was way back in 2006 in South Africa where he was out for a first ball duck after he was flown all the way from India to play the game to get some match practice ahead of the Test Series.
Laxman may hang his boots from International Cricket after the first Test against New Zealand most probably but he has decided to play domestic cricket for Hyderabad for another 2-3 years. If he does so, it will be a huge boost for the Hyderabad Ranji team which is slowly rising up again after a few dull seasons in the past.
