To get Lakshman out is a miracle.....

                    Lachu Bhai has retired from active Indian Cricket.Not waiting for the not-too-hard 2 test serious at home ,the man with the 'very very special' prefixed to his name , has hung his boot from the international cricket.The retirement has come out of blue ,from the man who has altered many a script on the crease due to his stubborn thirst for the win and a dogged perseverance to get lodged on the pitch when India needed it most.

                    Laxman stood tall on the ground. The spunky innings with elegant glances,soft -touch artistry laced with the clinical approach to each delivery shall be a nostalgic object of beauty and a joy for ever for those redolent of the glorious days of the ebullient quartet of Indian cricket. Many an innings went ,a one man show against ,be it England or the mighty Aussies.Enthralling as they were ,each unique in its way,as the austere Ricky Ponting has to lament “I hope his back is pretty sore for the next week as well and he can’t play” in October 2010. The fiendishly fast Brett Lee remembers Steve Waugh , “If you get Dravid, great. If you get Sachin, brilliant. If you get Laxman, it’s a miracle.”

                     VVS Lakshman has carved out a space in the world cricket by himself.

                 Speculations are rife in Cricketing India that the maverick righthander has walked into sun set being anguished with the fulsome snubs of the BCCI and the selection committee in India. The governing committees of cricket in India has failed to let him know well in time that his induction in the team for the incoming series with the Kiwis was to pave way for his exit from the team. The message was served to him only after including him in the test series.Lakshman was pained by the slight and the injustice which prompted him to declare the innings even with out waiting to play in the home ground.

                    The written note in the valedictory press conference brimmed with emotions ,read out by the cricketer did not carry any inkling of a controversy. Although the backdrop of the events that led to his bow out is not fully made public ,speculations are rife that the seemingly obliterating fusillades from the ex-players ,in the couple of weeks proceeded , dented deep in his morale and doused his thirst to pad further. It was a known fact that senior players in the world famed quartet was under scanner ever since they came a cropper from the Australia and England tour.

The vitriol spewed relentlessly on the veteran players were sufficient to extinguish the fire in any player. Many of his fans believe that Laxman loved to retire on the apt time his inner voice dictated and that the compulsory retirement order would have hurt him deep.

                     "Maybe some negative comments in columns by former cricketers hurt him and it could be that the BCCI did not defend him which could have added to his hurt," said Board Secretary Sanjay Jagdale.

                  Kapil Devan in a syndicated column was abrasive and iniquitous in the commend that the veteran should have announced his retirement when Ganguly did. The former captain and the legend in himself must perhaps have forgotten that he also bluntly stuck on for two years despite being out-of-form simply because he wanted to surpass the record of 431 test wickets set by Sir Richard Hadley. It is a pity that such devastating polemics should have come from people like Kapil and Srikanth.

                      Chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who will lay down office in September also has thrown his hat in the ring.Ganguly says: “Srikkanth has a big problem in communicating. A player like Laxman would not train so hard just to keep himself fit for two Tests.”

                      Laxman sweated hard in the nets during the past 3 months for the big games ahead . When it rained at Hyderbad ,he flew to Bangalore for the practice. He was very arduous and engaged in tiring calisthenics to stay fit for a few more years. The harsh equipage for a couple of matches and that too against a depleted and low keyed opponent at home grounds would not explain itself.

                  ” If they (selectors) conveyed their opinion to Laxman earlier, this situation would not have surfaced. Why they stretched till August? Probably, the selectors' judgement has hurt him (Laxman) the most," Ganguly was quoted as saying.

                        Ganguly believes not with out sufficient grounds that the ,selectors have informed Lakshman that this could be his valedictory series after his inclusion in the team ,would have hurt him leading into a hasty announcement.

                        The BCCI, on its part, plays a poor-soul-role and wants to absolve itself."The BCCI President was aware of Laxman's decision to quit before the two-Test series. He took the decision after talking to the BCCI President," said Board Secretary Sanjay Jagdale.

                        This has not been the first time the selection committee is brushing shoulders with the senior players.Earlier the in-form Dravid was called back to play in ODI (at the time when he was an outcast in one day version of the game )when he was playing well against England in the tests. He was recalled only to be d served with the clue that they plan to extend a ceremonious opportunity to retire .VVS Lakshman was even not served with that poetic justice.

                        Lakshman steps down when retirement was not in his remotest dreams raising the philosophical question that should leaders quit for the youngsters. Or it raises a doubt that a berth in games is to be waited up till others retire or to be snatched by sweating it out.

                     The thoroughbred and pleasant-tongued man does not want to drop a brick and said that he listened to his metaphoric "inner voice" to come to the decision that it was time to bow out.

                          Dravid testifies that his performance on the field and personality off it were always of a high standard and has played many crucial knocks that helped India. Dhoni though was in incommunicado in the final hours before the announcement to the world of the retirement , paid rich tributes to the veteran batsman, saying that his absence would be felt by the entire team. “Will miss him whenever the team cuts cake, personally I will really miss u LACHU BHAI,” Dhoni tweeted.

                 VVS ,the legendary cricketer  leaves the crease visibly hurt.

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