VVS Laxman used to be a pillar of strength in Indian battling, especially in the test matches. The wristy Hyderabadi batsman made his test debut in 1996 and became an integral part of the team after his career defining innings of 281 against Australia in 2001. The innings turned out to be impactful as India registered a famous victory in Eden Gardens after being forced the follow-on by the Aussies.
Laxman went onto become an important member of the team but his slow strike rate made him a test batsman thereafter. The veteran finally decided to retire after 2011/12 Australia tour where he failed to create an impact.
India was later scheduled to play a test series at home against New Zealand where the first match was to be played at Laxman’s home city of Hyderabad. He shocked the cricketing world when he announced his retirement before the test series without getting a farewell game.
He was questioned by the media if he had communicated with skipper MS Dhoni before the decision. Laxman went onto say that he could not reach him which sparked the questions of his rift with the Indian captain.
Dhoni was not the reason for my retirement says Laxman
Laxman recently launched his autobiography ‘281 and Beyond’ where he kept the rumour aside and said that Dhoni was not responsible for his retirement.
“After I informed the media of my decision to retire, the questions flowed. ‘Have you informed your teammates?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Have you spoken to Dhoni, what did he have to say?’ ‘Everyone knows how difficult it is to reach Dhoni,’ I joked. Little did I realise that this would trigger the first and only controversy of my cricketing career,” Laxman quoted in his book.
“I had unwittingly provided fodder to the media, who started to speculate that I had retired in a huff because MS and I had differences, that there was a rift between us.
“It wasn’t funny at the time, but one of the headlines the following day read, ‘VVS, retired hurt’. I waited for the end of the Test and then went to the hotel to thank every teammate and member of the support staff individually.
“When I met MS, he took one look at me and burst out laughing. ‘Laxman bhai, you are not used to all these controversies, but I am. Don’t take this to heart. We all know that sometimes, facts need not come in the way of a good story.’ I was once again struck by his maturity, his simplicity, and how easily he had put me at ease,” the book read.
