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VVS Laxman may announce retirement on Saturday

August 18, 2012

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Hyderabad, August 18: It all began 16 years ago against the visiting South Africans in Ahmedabad. After 134 matches and 17 hundreds, Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman's Test journey is likely to end at home with the first Test against New Zealand to be played from Aug 23 to 27.

"Laxman has decided to announce his retirement from international cricket on Saturday. He spoke to me this morning and said he is quitting Test cricket," one of his former teammates told ToI on Friday.

"Asked if it was a sudden decision, Laxman said that he had been thinking about the move for some time now and felt it was time to take a final call," the source added. "Laxman said that he will continue to play domestic cricket for another two or three years. He is keen on revamping the Hyderabad team and grooming youngsters."

Laxman's first coach John Manoj of St John's Sports Coaching Foundation, where Laxman learnt his art, said: "Yes, Laxman spoke to me about it. We had a long chat on the issue."

Laxman has been keen on hanging up his willow this season. "Though he has been selected for both Tests against New Zealand, I think Laxman is most likely to quit after the Hyderabad Test," John added.

"Playing one Test less or more won't make much of a difference to his stature. But the thrill of calling it quits in front of his home crowd is any day a wonderful experience for any player. Laxman's timing has always been perfect and I am sure this time too he will hit the bull's eye," John said.

According to John, Laxman wants the youngsters to cement their places in the Indian team. "With India playing a lot of Tests at home this season, he feels it is proper that youngsters get a chance to hone their skills on subcontinent wickets rather than being thrown to the wolves abroad," John said.

"Laxman has always been a selfless cricketer and a hardcore team man. He doesn't want to come in the way of Team India rebuilding itself. He wants the team management to have the chance of getting a core group going again," he added.

It has been 25 years since John first spotted the talent in a young lad brought to his camp by his uncle.

"It was in 1987 that his uncle Baba brought the 11-year-old Laxman to the camp and we knew that this lad had something 'very very special'. And over the years he has proved to be India's most reliable batsman. It is a matter of great pride for all of us here," John told TOI.

Laxman went on to live up to his nickname - 'Very Very Special' - as he became part of the famous batting quartet also comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravidwhich ruled Indian cricket for more than a decade.

Laxman got his first Test half-century (51) in the second innings of his debut match against the South Africans but it took him another 29 innings before he got his first Test hundred - afabulous 167 against Australia in the Sydney Test.

Since then Laxman has gone on to get 16 more hundreds while notching up a total of 56 half-centuries, with his highest being the monumental 281 against Australia in Kolkata which destroyed Australian captain Steve Waugh's dream of conquering the 'Final Frontier'.

Laxman has since been a thorn in Australia's flesh more than once. Barring the last series Down Under when he could manage only 155 in eight innings, Laxman has time and again taken on the Aussie challenge and come on top. He has 2434 runs against them at an average of 49.67. His splendid form against the reigning Test team was one of the reasons for India's ascendancy to the top spot in Test cricket.

Laxman till date, has played 134 Tests, amassing 8,781 runs at an average of 45.97. The Hyderabadi has always had a pair of safe hands and has pouched 135 Test catches too.

Thriving under pressure has been Laxman's forte. Every time he was dropped, Laxman bounced back with a vengeance and made his bite their words. The Damocles' sword was always hanging on his head but instead of letting it pull him down, Laxman converted it into his strength and went on to carve a nice for himself.

Laxman is one batsman who has batted in all positions barring No.9 and 11. He loves to bat at the No.3 position, where he has 1611 runs to his credit, but made himself comfortable at the No.5 and 6 positions where he got most of his runs (2877 and 2760). It's unlikely that there will be another VVS soon.

Very Very Special Numbers

Test debut: vs South Africa at Ahmedabad, 1996

M - 134; Runs - 8,781; Avg - 45.97; 100s - 17; Top Score - 281

ODI debut: vs Zimbabwe at Cuttack, 1998

M - 81; Runs - 2,338; Avg - 30.76; 100s - 6; Top Score - 131

First-class debut: 1992-93

M - 265; Runs - 19,520; Avg - 51.5; 100s - 54; Top Scores - 353

The other big names in India who called it quits post 2000

Rahul Dravid - Retired in March 2012 aged 39

Tests - M: 164; Runs: 13288; Hs: 270; Avg: 52.31; 100s: 36; 50s: 63

ODIs - M: 344; Runs: 10889; Hs: 153; Avg: 39.16; 100s: 12; 50s: 83

Like Sachin Tendulkar, he seemed to be enjoying a great second wind and it appeared that way as Dravid was the only Indian to shine in India's 0-4 rout against England in England, aggregating 461 runs in four Tests with three tons. He followed that up with a good series at home against West Indies too but post the defeat Down Under, he decided enough

was enough.

Sourav Ganguly - Retired in Nov 2008 aged 36

Tests - M: 113; Runs: 7212; Hs: 239; Avg: 42.17; 100s: 16; 50s: 35

ODIs - M: 311; Runs: 11363; Hs: 183; Avg: 41.02; 100: 22; 50: 72

The moment Krish Srikkanth took over as the new chief selector, he was brought back for the four-Test series of Australia at home. On the eve of the first Test in Bangalore, though, Ganguly announced that the series would be his last. He signed off on a high, scoring a brilliant hundred in the second Test in Mohali and a strokeful 85 in the first innings of the last Test in Nagpur.

Anil Kumble - Retired in Oct 2008 aged 38

Tests - M: 132; Wkts: 619; Best: 10/74; Avg: 29.65; 5w: 35

ODIs - M: 271; Wkts: 337; Best: 6/12; Avg: 30.89; 5w: 2

Appointed captain at the age of 37 after Rahul Dravid quit the job, Kumble led with distinction in Australia, where his diplomatic skills salvaged some acrimonious situations during the 'Monkeygate' controversy and the defeat in Sydney. A shoulder injury made him pave the way for Dhoni to lead in the second Test in Mohali. He returned but split the webbing in his left hand, prompting him to announce the retirement.

Javagal Srinath - Retired in Nov 2003 aged 34

Tests - M: 67; Wkts: 236; Best: 8/86; Avg: 30.49; 5w: 10

ODIs - M: 229; Wkts: 315; Best: 5/23; Avg: 28.08; 5w: 3

He had briefly retired after India's tour to West Indies in 2002 and was persuaded to return by then-skipper Sourav Ganguly. He did so and bowled well in India in the Tests against West Indies. His decision to pull out of the Test series on spicy wickets in New Zealand in 2002-03 didn't go down well with the team management. His dipping fitness finally prompted him to call it quits.



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News Network
July 1,2020

New Delhi, Jul 1: After being named as India's 'Most Valuable Player' in Test cricket in the 21st century, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Wednesday said that he will always aim to give his best for the country.

His remark came as Jadeja achieved an MVP rating of 97.3 and as a result, he was also rated as the second most valuable player Test player worldwide, only second to Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.

"Thank you Wisden India for naming me the 'Most Valuable Player'. I would like to thank all my teammates, coaches, fans, and well-wishers for your support as I aim to give my best for our country. Jai Hind," Jadeja tweeted.

Based on CricViz's market-leading analytics, each player in world cricket was awarded an 'MVP rating' by Wisden using a statistical model to rank their 'match impact' compared to their peers.

Jadeja has played in 49 Tests from 2012, managing to score 1,869 runs and has also picked up 213 wickets.

"It might come as a surprise to see Ravindra Jadeja, India's spin-bowling all-rounder, feature as India's number one. After all, he's not even always an automatic pick in their Test team. However, when he does play he is picked as a frontline bowler and has batted as high as No.6 - contributing to a very high match involvement," the official website of Wisden quoted CricViz's Freddie Wilde as saying.

"But Jadeja's position is based on more than simply volume: it's what he does when he's involved that really counts. The 31-year-old's bowling average of 24.62 is better than Shane Warne's and his batting average of 35.26 is better than Shane Watson's. His batting and bowling average differential of 10.62 runs is the second-best of any player this century to have scored more than 1,000 runs and taken 150 wickets. He is an all-rounder of the very highest quality," he added.

With the bat in hand, Jadeja has managed to score one century and 14 fifties in the longest format of the game.

He was last seen in action during India's two-Test series against New Zealand earlier this year.

He would have been in action for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL had the tournament commenced from March 29.

However, the IPL has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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News Network
April 7,2020

London, Apr 7: Bowling coach Waqar Younis feels that it was the absence of pacers Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir which saw Pakistan getting whitewashed during Australia tour last year.

Amir and Riaz had quit the red-ball format ahead of the matches against Australia in 2019.

"Just before the Australia series, they ditched us and we had the only choice to pick youngsters.

We were the new management and decided to go on with taking in the younger lot and groom them. ESPNcricinfo quoted Younis as saying.

Pakistan was not able to win a single match in Australia as they got defeated both in T20Is and Test series.

"It's not like we have lost a lot, but yes they left us at the wrong time. But anyway, we don't have any grudge against them," Younis added.

"We cannot control players' choice on what they want to play, but then there should be a mechanism so we all are on board. "It's not like I am saying we could have won in Australia but we could have done better than what we have done," he opined.

Amir gave up the red ball format in July in order to manage his workload and extend his white-ball career for Pakistan as well as in T20 leagues around the world, while Riaz took an "indefinite break" from Test cricket in September last year.

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News Network
March 19,2020

Geneva, Mar 19: Regional Olympic officials are rallying around the IOC and have backed its stance on opening the Tokyo Games as scheduled, as direct criticism from gold medalist athletes built amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Leaders of continental Olympic groups praised the IOC after a conference call Wednesday to update them on coronavirus issues four months before the opening ceremony in Tokyo on July 24.

"We are living through an unpredictable crisis and as such, it is important that we have one policy, expressed by the IOC, and we follow that policy in unison," the Italy-based European Olympic Committees said.

However, when the International Olympic Committee published an interview with its president, Thomas Bach, after a separate call with athlete representatives, it prompted a four-time Olympic champion to urge postponing the games.

Bach acknowledged that many athletes were concerned about qualifying events being canceled, but noted that there were still four months to go until the games are set to be opened.

"We will keep acting in a responsible way in the interests of the athletes," Bach said.

British rowing great Matthew Pinsent wrote on Twitter that the comments from Bach, his former IOC colleague, were "tone deaf."

"The instinct to keep safe (not to mention obey govt instructions to lock down) is not compatible with athlete training, travel and focus that a looming Olympics demands of athletes, spectators organisers," Pinsent wrote.

Responding to the criticism from Hayley Wickenheiser, a four-time Olympic hockey gold medalist, the IOC said it was "counting on the responsibility and solidarity of the athletes."

Members reinforce faith in IOC

The IOC repeated its steadfast stance after a conference call with sports governing bodies, many of which have not completed qualification events for Tokyo.

"There is no need for any drastic decisions at this stage; and any speculation at this moment would be counter-productive," the IOC said.

That message was repeated after Wednesday's conference call by IOC executive board member Robin Mitchell, the interim leader of the group of national Olympic bodies known as ANOC.

"We share the view that we must be realistic, but not panic," Mitchell said in a statement released by the IOC on behalf of the Oceania Olympic group.

Offering unanimous support for the IOC's efforts to resolve qualification issues, the 41-nation Pan-American group noted challenges facing potential Olympians.

Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll said his organized recognized there was a global health crisis, but equally was assured by the IOC that the games would go ahead.

"We recognize people are suffering -- people are sick, people are losing jobs, businesses are struggling amid enormous community uncertainty. Things are changing everyday and we all must adapt," Carroll said.

"We owe it to our Australian athletes to do everything we can to ensure they will participate with the best opportunity in those Games."

Australia's team delegation leader said the focus now was "moving to the planning of our pre-Games preparation to ensure we get our athletes to the Games healthy, prepared and virus free."

"Clearly that is a major challenge for all National Olympic Committees," he said.

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