….And the kangaroos may get back to normal cricket singing Tagores’ famous line “Where the mind is without fear”. Stalwart of Indian test cricket Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman has decided to call it quits. 16 years and over 134 matches and one more match to follow, Laxman has always proved that he is a world class test player. He could have very well pursed his MBBS degree, but he opted for his first love - Cricket.
A thorn in the arm is the way Aussies describes him. He was not just a defensive batsman, but also a good attacking batsman. Be it spinners or pacers, they all had the same story to tell. He used to give them a good run for the money.
Selfless is an adjective that he always carried. As an integral part of the Famous quartet- Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS, he ensured that he stood apart from the rest with best performance in the second innings.
His decision to hang his boots in his home town after the first test match against New Zealand has left an open point for discussion whether his decision is taken under pressure. Is the fear of 8 losses in the last year while he was the vice captain of the side is playing in his mind or he really feels that the youngster should be given their due to get a place in the test squad. Or even worse, are the team members not getting along well with the senior pro. Sachin is the only player of the quartet, still playing after the ‘Wall’ and the ‘God of the off side’ called it quits. It’s just VVS who can really answer this question.
A couple of years would have been still fine with him to serve for the country .It’s absolutely no one’s business to tell him whether it’s the right time or wrong time to retire, it’s an individual’s decision.
In his playing days, fortunately or unfortunately it has been always against Australia that he has played superb innings. He was an instrumental member in stopping Steve Waugh’s Final Frontier. Australia had won 16 consecutive test matches. His innings in Eden Gardens not only saved India from blues of losing the match by an innings, but it also crushed the hopes of Australia as he sailed India through the victory. With a touch of elegance and classic style, he has always denied his wicket and changed the course of the match.
His batting style always reminds us of his Hyderabadi counterpart and former captain Mohammed Azharuddin. A wristy flick from the off and the ball disappearing on the on side and racing towards the boundary was his style of batting.
Often referred as week legs, he struggled to take quick singles and convert the ones into two’s.
In spite of being such an important member of the Test squad, he has never played any World Cup match. Yet that does not take away the fact that even in the ODI, has played some excellent cricket. It was against Australia, he had scored 3 centuries in a week’s time in Australia in year 2002.
Some of the quotes of the Australian Players on VVS
Steve Waugh: If you get Sachin, brilliant. If you get Laxman, it's a miracle."
Ricky Ponting: I hope his back's pretty sore for next week as well and he can't play."
Let’s agree the fact that he will not be missed in the odis or t20, but he will always be missed in the Indian middle order in the test matches.
Good bye to yet another classical test batsman of the Indian squad and wish him luck for his future.
A thorn in the arm is the way Aussies describes him. He was not just a defensive batsman, but also a good attacking batsman. Be it spinners or pacers, they all had the same story to tell. He used to give them a good run for the money.
Selfless is an adjective that he always carried. As an integral part of the Famous quartet- Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS, he ensured that he stood apart from the rest with best performance in the second innings.
His decision to hang his boots in his home town after the first test match against New Zealand has left an open point for discussion whether his decision is taken under pressure. Is the fear of 8 losses in the last year while he was the vice captain of the side is playing in his mind or he really feels that the youngster should be given their due to get a place in the test squad. Or even worse, are the team members not getting along well with the senior pro. Sachin is the only player of the quartet, still playing after the ‘Wall’ and the ‘God of the off side’ called it quits. It’s just VVS who can really answer this question.
A couple of years would have been still fine with him to serve for the country .It’s absolutely no one’s business to tell him whether it’s the right time or wrong time to retire, it’s an individual’s decision.
In his playing days, fortunately or unfortunately it has been always against Australia that he has played superb innings. He was an instrumental member in stopping Steve Waugh’s Final Frontier. Australia had won 16 consecutive test matches. His innings in Eden Gardens not only saved India from blues of losing the match by an innings, but it also crushed the hopes of Australia as he sailed India through the victory. With a touch of elegance and classic style, he has always denied his wicket and changed the course of the match.
His batting style always reminds us of his Hyderabadi counterpart and former captain Mohammed Azharuddin. A wristy flick from the off and the ball disappearing on the on side and racing towards the boundary was his style of batting.
Often referred as week legs, he struggled to take quick singles and convert the ones into two’s.
In spite of being such an important member of the Test squad, he has never played any World Cup match. Yet that does not take away the fact that even in the ODI, has played some excellent cricket. It was against Australia, he had scored 3 centuries in a week’s time in Australia in year 2002.
Some of the quotes of the Australian Players on VVS
Steve Waugh: If you get Sachin, brilliant. If you get Laxman, it's a miracle."
Ricky Ponting: I hope his back's pretty sore for next week as well and he can't play."
Let’s agree the fact that he will not be missed in the odis or t20, but he will always be missed in the Indian middle order in the test matches.
Good bye to yet another classical test batsman of the Indian squad and wish him luck for his future.
