VVS Laxman - The art of retiring

Very Very Special, indeed.

Dr. Shantharam Laxman once said - ‘It is not the profession that glorifies the man but the man that glorifies the profession.’
His son, Vangipurappu Venkatasai Laxman – more fondly known as VVS Laxman – has proved his father right. He played with class and finesse for sixteen years, and retired with the very same class and finesse.

Now, Laxman is still training very hard. He is playing matches in Hyderabad and Mysore, and practicing at the National Cricket Academy. His wife Sailaja told the press that Laxman was looking forward to the Aussies’ tour of India to defeat them. So it was a shock when on August 18th, five days before the first Test against New Zealand in Hyderabad, Laxman publicly announced his retirement. About the same shock was experienced five months earlier, when Laxman’s best friend and confidante – a class player himself – Bangalore boy Rahul Dravid announced his retirement. Now Laxman could have continued playing, but he knew that his two options were either to go with his wish to play for India, or to retire and make space for youngsters. Laxman picked the latter and for that, we all salute him.

Laxman came from a family that comprised mainly of doctors. He was a bright student and well on his way to becoming Dr. Laxman, but he also had his way with the cricket bat. He had love for the game and unorthodox shots which encouraged him to pursue his interest in the game of cricket. 1996 was a time in which, playing even at the highest level, your only salary was pride, and maybe small moolah from endorsements. Going into cricket as a career wasn’t particularly encouraged, but Laxman chose cricket over medicine anyway.

His torture-the-Aussies campaign started off with a 167 in Sydney, which was followed by a 281 in Kolkata. So on August 18th in 2012, when Laxman announced his retirement, the popping of champagne corks in Australia was rather audible.
Steve Waugh once told his team – “If you get Dravid, great. If you get Sachin, brilliant. If you get Laxman, it’s a miracle.”

In sixteen years, Laxman has achieved quite a lot:

2434- Runs scored against the Aussies in 29 matches.
135- Catches taken by Laxman.
8781- Number of runs made in 134 Test matches

The critics and the audience were full of criticism during Laxman’s disappointing performance against England and shockingly, Australia, and while those were crucial games, at the end of the day, one bad year cannot erase fifteen years of hard work and service to Indian cricket.

VVS was never a man for leaving the field, even temporarily. Declare him out, and you’ll see the look of utter disappointment and disgust on his face. Sixteen years ago, his soul told him to pick cricket and he listened to it. Throughout his career, he listened to that very same soul. So when his soul told him that his time was up, it was a very hard choice for him to listen and to depart from the field forever.

On November 15th at 9:30 am, when it’s time for India to bat, the crowds will look towards the pavilion. It’s not clear yet as to who they will see. But let me tell you who they won’t see -Rahul Dravid and his best friend VVS Laxman.

Dravid and Laxman: best friends, legends, gentlemen.