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As expected, V V S Laxman announced his retirement from international cricket Saturday, but sprang a surprise by opting not to play in the first Test against New Zealand, which had been billed as a farewell pageant for him.
As Team India’s much-storied match-winner read out his retirement statement at a media conference -- also attended by family and friends -- Saturday, questions began to crop up over what exactly transpired between him and the cricket establishment in the past few days. If Laxman was to retire even before the series began on Aug. 23, was not the BCCI aware of his mind when it included him in the team a week ago? Or, did Laxman make himself available and then change his mind?
Questions on Laxman’s future began to be aired soon after Rahul Dravid chose to quit after returning from India’s disastrous tour to England early this year. Both were under pressure to make way for youngsters, and there was speculation that the BCCI asked for a written commitment from them that they would go after the New Zealand series.
Miffed, Dravid quit immediately while Laxman preferred to wait. Then came insinuations from former players in the media that Laxman was impeding the growth of youngsters. Some of these remarks were snide and they reached his ears. Those who know Laxman say he will countenance criticism of his cricket but not his character.
Former captain Sourav Ganguly said that by advancing his retirement Laxman was sending a ‘’loud and clear’’ message to the selectors, particularly chairman K Srikkanth. “Srikkanth has a big problem in communicating. Probably, the selectors have hurt Laxman,” he said.
Laxman himself steered clear of controversy. “It was five days ago that I had this feeling for the first time that it is time to bid goodbye. I told my parents and friends, and their response was that I should listen to my inner conscience,” he said, as his wife Sailaja teared up.
According to Laxman, it was on Saturday morning that he informed the chairman of selectors and the BCCI president of his decision and persuaded them to allow him to forego his farewell party. He then spoke to his team-mates -- barring captain M S Dhoni, who could not be reached. “Everyone knows how difficult it is to get MS on the line,” was all that he said.
Ganguly said he was surprised that Laxman was not able to reach Dhoni. “A skipper should be available to his players 24 hours. I don’t know why Dhoni does this. I think the situation would have been different, if Laxman had got Dhoni’s support,” Ganguly said.
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