Full Name = Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman

Born = November 1, 1974, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh

Current Age = 37 years 293 days

Major Teams = India, Deccan Chargers, Hyderabad (India), Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Lancashire

Nickname = Very Very Special

Playing Role = Top-order batsman

Batting Style = Right-hand bat

Bowling Style = Right-arm off break

Education = Little Flower High School, St. John’s School

VVS Laxman has announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect, ending a 16-year career that will be remembered for several innings of extreme grace under extreme pressure. Laxman, 37, had been included in India’s squad for the home series against New Zealand starting next week but said he took the decision over the past few days.

Laxman represented India in 134 Tests, scoring 8781 runs at 45.97. He made his debut against South Africa in the home series in 1996 but shot to the limelight with a knock of 167 against Australia in Sydney in 2000. Perhaps his greatest achievement was his 281 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2001, against Australia, then the highest score by an Indian batsman in Tests. Part of a record stand with Rahul Dravid, it set up a stunning victory for the home team after following on and ended Australia’s consecutive 16-match winning streak.

Laxman last played an ODI in 2006 but had, by then, become a regular in the Test side and played his 100th Test in 2008, against Australia in Nagpur. Laxman made six of his 17 Test centuries against Australia, with an average of 49.67 in 29 Tests and success both home and away.

His performances in the eight Tests during India’s disastrous tours of England and Australia in 2011 were disappointing. He averaged 22.75 in England and 19.38 in Australia, prompting some to call for him being dropped from the side with a long-term view of grooming a youngster to take his place.

Profile

At his sublime best, VVS Laxman is a sight for the gods. Wristy, willowy and sinuous, he can match – sometimes even better – Tendulkar for stroke play. His on-side game is comparable to his idol Azharuddin’s, yet he is decidedly more assured on the off side and has the rare gift of being able to hit the same ball to either side. The Australians, who have suffered more than most, paid the highest compliment after India’s 2003-04 tour Down Under by admitting they did not know where to bowl to him. Laxman, a one-time medical student, finally showed signs of coming to terms with his considerable gifts in March 2001, as he tormented Steve Waugh’s thought-to-be-invincible Australians with a majestic 281 to stand the Kolkata Test on its head. But even though he had another wonderful series against the Australians in 2003-04 with two centuries, one of them involving a back-from-the-dead, match-winning, 300-plus partnership with Kolkata ally Rahul Dravid at Adelaide, he hasn’t quite managed the consistency that could have turned him into a batting great. Between dazzling and sometimes workmanlike hundreds, he has suffered the frustration of numerous twenties and thirties and has lost his place in the one-day side. Nothing, though, has deterred him from tormenting his favourite opponents with silken strokes and piles of runs: in the course of the double-hundred at Feroz Shah Kotla in 2008, he became the second Indian batsman after Tendulkar to score more than 2000 runs against the Australians. A couple of years later, batting with a runner due to back spasms, he conjured up a magical unbeaten 73 in a thrilling run-chase in Mohali.

However, in 2011 the runs dried up in two successive overseas trips – in eight innings in England he scored 182, and then the poor run continued in his favourite country and against his favourite opponent, Australia. With India losing those matches badly, his future as an international player was suddenly under threat.

There were calls from former players and commentators questioning Laxman’s selection for the two-Test home series against New Zealand in August 2012. On August 18, though, less than a week before the series was to begin in his hometown Hyderabad, Laxman announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect, resisting the temptation to end his career in front of his home crowd.

Batting and fielding averages

Bowling averages

Career statistics