Laxman retirement - An emotion filled announcement
India will greatly miss another legend from their batting line-up as Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman announced his retirement with immediate effect, bringing a sparkling 16-year career to an end. The classy right-handed batsman announced his decision in a press conference held at the Uppal stadium in Hyderabad. In the presence of his father, mother, wife and his two children, an emotional Laxman addressed the media and the dignitaries present at the venue. Laxman said his dream as a youngster was to play for India and said he was blessed to serve his country and took a lot of pride in wearing the India cap. He said he would have loved to play against New Zealand but took the decision to call it quits as youngsters would benefit by playing at home, especially keeping the tough overseas tours in the upcoming years in mind.
"Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for coming at such a short notice. I would like to announce my retirement from international cricket with immediate effect. It has been 16 years since I made my international debut for India and I feel that this is the right time for me to move on. I have always kept the country's success and needs ahead of my personal aspirations and hence while I would have loved to be contributing to the team's success especially against England and Australia later in the season, I think it is the right time to give opportunity to an youngster in home conditions before the tough overseas tours next year. As a youngster, representing India was a dream for me and I'm very grateful to the almighty for blessing me to live my dream. Very few in our country get that opportunity and I feel I am blessed that I got the opportunity. I have always felt that through cricket, I've got an opportunity to serve my country and therefore I took a lot of pride in wearing the India cap."
Laxman thanked his parents for supporting him during his cricketing career and said it was their upbringing that helped him handle many situations with a calm mind. He also thanked them for giving him the freedom to play cricket as well as his wife and his close friends for their support.
"I was fortunate to play in an era where the Indian cricket team played some of its best cricket - not only at home but also overseas. I feel that I was very lucky that during this fabulous journey I had a lot of people who guided and encouraged me and without them probably this journey would not have been memorable. I would take this opportunity to sincerely thank all of them from the bottom of my heart starting obviously with my parents Dr. Santharam and Dr. Satyabhama for the upbringing they gave me which helped me to face various challenges and situations in my career with equanimity. Also and more importantly, for giving me the freedom and independence to pursue my passion of playing cricket. My maternal uncle Baba Krishna Mohan, who actually spotted talent in me, probably had the biggest influence in my life. My wife Sailaja has been a pillar of strength to me since our marriage in 2004. She made a lot of sacrifices only to make sure I pursue my passion of playing for the country with a free mind. She has almost single-handedly looked after my two lovely kids Sarvajit and Achinta as I was most of the time travelling with my cricket commitments. My brother VVS Ramakrishna for all the love and affection he showered on me and my childhood buddies Rajesh and Parth for the friendship they shared with me."
Laxman then went on to convey his gratitude to his teachers and the coaches for guiding him in building a career and also thanked the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) for recognizing his talent and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for giving him an opportunity to play for India.
"(I would like to thank) my teachers at Little Flower High School especially my physical education teacher Mr. Jayprakash sir, for all the encouragement he and the rest of the teachers gave me early in my life. My coaches at the St John's cricket foundation for the support and guidance they gave me and my personal coach Ashok bhai for spending endless hours so that I can hone my skills. I would also thank the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) for recognizing my talent and encouraging me, especially at the start of my career, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for giving me an opportunity to play for my country for nearly 16 years, the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Bangalore where I spent a lot of time, especially during the last two years and specially Ashish Kaushik, the physio there, who really worked hard so that I could recover from my back problem. (My thanks to) All the coaches of various teams I represented both at domestic and international levels for always encouraging me and motivating me to become a consistent performer."
Laxman thanked the selectors for trusting his abilities and giving him an opportunity to play for the country. He also thanked all the captains he played under and conveyed special thanks to his team-mates by saying that he spent some of his best moments with them.
"(I would like to thank) all the selectors for keeping faith in my abilities and giving me an opportunity to serve for the country. All the captains I played under for inspiring me and most importantly all my team-mates with whom I played and shared the best moments of my life. I was very fortunate to play with colleagues who took a lot of in their and their team's performance and most of them have become legends of the game. The affection, bonding and friendship they share with me will definitely be cherished by me for my life."
Laxman went on to thanks all the physios, the media and the fans and finished his speech by saying that he will cherish what was an emotional, fabulous and a memorable journey.
"(I'd like to thank) all the physios and trainers who worked hard to keep me fit all my friends from the media who supported me during my career and all my fans and well-wishers from India and across the world for all the encouragement and good wishes they showered on me right through this journey. I always strive my best to give everything I have to my team while maintaining my dignity. There were times I'm sure I have disappointed them but I can assure that it was definitely not because of lack of effort. I conclude in all humility by praying to the almighty to take and bless Indian cricket to reach the highest level in the world in all forms of the game. Thank you once again, it's definitely been an emotional, fabulous and memorable journey which I will definitely cherish for the rest of my life."
In a career spanning 16 years, Laxman scored 8781 Test runs at an average of 45.97 and 2338 ODI runs at 30.76. His only disappointment was in not featuring in any World Cup tournaments. Laxman was awarded with the Arjuna Award in 2001. He was named as the Wisden cricketer of the Year in 2002 and was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri award in 2011. The Hyderabad Cricket Association went on to honour one of its distinguished pupils by naming the 'N' stand in the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium after VVS Laxman.
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