The end was coming. Another era is over. When Rahul Dravid retired sometime back, there was a widespread sense of sadness and irreplaceable loss, but most of us took heart saying “We still have Laxman”. But with his retirement at the age of 37, the void in the Indian test team has only enlarged.
Laxman’s batting was one of a kind, and a exhilirating one, that we might never see again. His knack of playing big innings under pressure against the toughest of opposition under the roughest of conditions was what set him apart from his peers. Even though he played most of his cricket in the elite company of the famous trio of Indian cricket, Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly, he carved a niche for himself and had his own legion of fans. The ground was his canvas and the bat was his brush. His shots and timing were pure poetry, and even the opposition was left to admire his array of strokes. He had the amazing ability to play these shots under pressure situations and keep the scoring rate going when other batsmen would be struggling to meet ball with bat. True, his footwork was limited but he overcame this with impressive hand eye coordination. His drives, flicks, glances and pulls were glorious to watch and he didnt break a sweat. You would hardly see Laxman play aggressive strokes and go for the big hits, and maybe thats one of the reasons why he didnt go places with the ODI and T20 teams, but he was just perfect for the test format. His exploits against Australia are unforgettable epics and etched in every Indian cricket fan’s memory, and more recently the match winning innings he played against the likes of Steyn and Morkel in the tough South African conditions was nothing short of a spectacle.
He was an excellent slip catcher too and among the finest in world cricket and it was a very assuring sight seeing him and Dravid in the slip cordon. Another hallmark of Laxman was his reputation to inspire tail enders to bat along with him. Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Praghyan Ojha etc have all benefited by batting along with him and it is said that some of them would even borrow Laxman’s bat when they go out to bat in the middle. Not only Laxman, even his bat was held in high regard!
With his departure, India has lost the last of its crisis saviours and match winners in Tests. Its time to say adieu to the last of the technicians and architects of Indian test history. Laxman has chosen to exit gracefully and we all hope he shows the same grace and aestheticism in whatever he has planned for his future. A Very Very Special person has left the sporting arena, and that has left us Very Very Sad.
