Laxman: Leaving behind a wristy legacy

On an August evening, Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman spoke of an “inner voice,” “conscience” and his consistent desire to place “national interest and need over personal aspirations” as he bid adieu to international cricket in an emotionally charged conventional hall at the very venue where he was expected to receive a warm farewell from his adoring fans in what was meant to be his 135^th Test Match. But Laxman had his own idea, one that left him having an internal dialogue that translated into the decision late on the night of Friday. At least that is how he would like us to see it and we owe it to him to accept that at face value. He has earned that over treating each of us to an exquisite body of work that took him 16 years to craft. “It was a tough decision to take, I have always listened to my inner conscience,” he said “there was a lot of debate in the last four days. I felt this is the right time to move on.” In a game ravaged by money and greed, we could have seen the departure of the last gentleman to have played it.

Laxman may not have possessed the technical nous of Rahul Dravid, or been blessed with the prolific ways of Sachin Tendulkar. He was also not a leader of men like Saurav Ganguly, but then VVS did not need any of that to rub shoulders with the golden generation that took India to the pinnacle of world cricket. Because, the modest cricketer from Hyderabad more than made up for it by weaving a spiderweb around fielders with the wizardry that spun out of his supple wrists. It was the kind of magic that wasn’t witnessed since the heyday of Gundappa Viswanath and fans lapped it up like parched souls seeking solace.

The stylish cricketer will mostly be remembered for his 281 at the Eden Gardens – an innings played in the company of Rahul Dravid as the duo scripted a historic victory after India followed on against the rampant Aussies who were on a 16-match winning streak. The innings turned the match on its head and remained the most definitive innings of the 37 year old’s resplendent career. But while that might certainly be the shining beacon of his career, Laxman ought to be primarily remembered as a lone crusader that made a bigger proportion of his runs in the second innings when India needed them most.

His career contained 17 hundreds and as many as 56 fifties – many of them remaining unconverted mainly due to the fact that the wristy genius ran out of partners. Even though Laxman had to stay content with being at 5 or 6 in the batting order, the team could always count on his princely elegance and understated determination to see them through the tough sessions of many a tense Test Match. Of his many classic knocks were the timeless 167 at Sydney, 2000 and the 148 at Adelaide, 2004 against an Aussie team at the height of its dominance. But for sheer grit, none could match the beauty at Durban that left a timeless imprint on the South Africans and the disproportionately large Asian diaspora that populate the vibrant southern city.

On a minefield of a wicket, Laxman had top scored with 38 in a first innings total of 205. Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan combined to devastate the hosts by bowling them out for 131. But India’s meagre advantage dissipated quickly as they lost four quick wickets for just 56 runs, when Cheteshwar Pujara joined Laxman to see the team through to the end of the day.

Already under strife, India sunk into a deeper hole with the loss of Pujara early on the third day of that match. But the unfettered Hyderabadi remained stoic working in the company of MS Dhoni and Zaheer to steer the team through to 228. By the end of the innings Laxman had made an invaluable 96 runs (next highest score was 32 from Virender Sehwag) and laid the foundation for an historic victory to level the series. However, the abiding memories of Laxman shall not be the volume of runs he scored for India.

If anything it shall be for his grounded nature and the ability to handle the many disappointments of his career without as much as a grimace. In a gesture that epitomised the man’s undiminished attachment to his roots, Laxman has committed himself to playing domestic cricket with the Hyderabad team and offer his wisdom to the budding cricketers of the team that laid the foundation for his 16 year stint with the Indian team.

But most likely, the understated cricketer who went about his business with a monkish calm and humility shall be treasured in the annals of Indian cricket history for the immense collection of aesthetic brilliance left behind by the elegant master craftsman.