He combined grace and grit

Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman, the veteran of a 134 Test matches, who has hung up his boots after 16 years of international cricket, was never spoken about in the same breath as the Tendulkars, Gangulys or Dravids of Indian cricket, though he was no less talented than them.

Laxman on song was a sheer delight to watch for his loyal fans, and a nagging headache for the opposition. Rock solid in defence, imperious on the backfoot and a tenacious hooker of the cricket ball, Laxman whose knock of 281 not out against Australia at the Eden Gardens remains one of the greatest innings of all time, was destined to remain in the shadow of the other Indian greats.

And, this was something that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) often painfully reminded him about, be it in selection for one-dayers, or keeping him on tenterhooks whenever a tour was in the offing.

PURIST’S DELIGHT

Perhaps, it is this tinge of sadness that overcame the cricketer and forced him to bid adieu when he had been named in the Test squad for the two-Test series against New Zealand. It was widely speculated that this series would have been his swansong, given his lean trot of late and his dismal failure in the twin series against England and Australia.

A farewell Test that was clearly his due has been denied to him, but this is one instance where the BCCI cannot be held wholly responsible; it was Laxman who decided to retire with immediate effect without stretching the agony any further.

Like all great cricketers past their best, Laxman, too, had all but lost his magical touch, maybe because the advancing years were taking their toll and his quicksilver reflexes had all but deserted him. His style of batting was not really suited for the shorter version of the game, which perhaps explains why played fewer one-dayers than Tests, unlike his contemporaries like Tendulkar and Dravid.

This, of course, in no way takes any credit away from the ‘Mr Dependable’ of Indian cricket as the longer version remains the purist’s delight. In his prime he was no slouch on the field and was quite dependable in the slip cordon, but even here age had begun to take its toll.

Yet on uneven pitches with a bit of bounce, Laxman would pull and hook with ease, making batting look so easy, while wickets fell like nine pins on the other side.

CRISIS MAN

There have been numerous occasions when the famed trio of Ganguly, Sachin and Dravid have fallen by the wayside for low scores, and the princely batting displays by Laxman salvaged the country’s fortunes from seemingly hopeless positions. The sight of Laxman padded up and ready to set out to battle always raised Indian hopes. Each time he stepped out of the pavilion to take guard, the opposition knew that they had a tough job on their hands. The opposition loved to see his back sooner than later. They knew that with Laxman dismissed, they could run through the rest of the side with ease. A champion cricketer who let his craft speak for him, Laxman will remain a cricketer who gave his cent per cent, and held his and the nation’s head high. If Dravid’s exit was a body blow to Indian cricket, Laxman’s departure was no less.

(The author is a freelance journalist based in Bangalore.)

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