India batsman VVS Laxman announced his retirement from international cricket on Saturday, despite his selection for the two-Test series against New Zealand.
Ganesh Chaturthi is here and everyone from Sachin Tendulkar to Ajinkya Rahane and Harbhajan Singh took to Twitter to extend their greetings to fans and followers on the auspicious occasion.
Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande and all ranks of the force condoled the death of Agniveer, Gawate Akshay Laxman, who hailed from Maharashtra.
'He was brusque and abrasive, highly opinionated and rigid in his thinking. His man-management skills were non-existent. He quickly sowed further seeds of discontent in an already diffident team...I will always respect Greg Chappell the batsman. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Greg Chappell the coach'
Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi on Tuesday denied undermining the authority of VVS Laxman, his captain at Deccan Chargers, but maintained that the Indian lacks aggression.
India's chief selector was also critical about Laxman's fitness.
The stylish right-hander will play for the county club for the second half of the season as a replacement for Australia's Brad Hodge.
Sachin Tendulkar feels that VVS Laxman's void in the Indian team will be difficult to fulfill and he will miss the Hyderabadi stylist who announced his retirement with immediate effect.
Sachin Tendulkar led the chorus of former and current cricketers, hailing Rohit Sharma's men for winning the T20 World Cup.
The Hyderabadi's performance in Sri Lanka was far better that of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly. He scored 215 runs in six innings @ 48.53, inclusive of two half-centuries.
The Australians found it difficult to breach VVS Laxman's defence during his playing days but on the same soil, it was Narendra Modi's speech that 'bowled' him over and he is confident that young India will achieve success under the Prime Minister's able leadership.
VVS Laxman smashed 109 and Rahul Dravid a watchful 53 to guide India to 216 for three at stumps on day two of the second Test.
'They need batters who can bat out a full session in Australia.' 'You have seniors like Pujara and Rahane, who are scoring runs in domestic cricket. They have experience of Australian conditions too.' 'They should be given a chance to make a comeback, no harm in trying especially when your batting line-up is not even lasting a full session.'
Watching a young Sachin Tendulkar excelling against spinners Arshad Ayub and Venkatapathy Raju on a rank-turner in a Ranji Trophy match convinced him about the bright future of his junior teammate, recalled former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar.
VVS Laxman has been Australia's bugbear for quite a while and the classical middle order batsman prescribes self-belief with relentless aggression as the formula to succeed against the world champions.
It was jelly beans four years ago and it is Vaseline this time as a controversy erupted in the second India-England Test here when VVS Laxman was accused of using it on his bat to manipulate the Hot-Spot technology in the Decision Review System.
VVS Laxman returned to the top 20 of the ICC Rankings for the first time in three years after his scintillating performance against Pakistan in the first Test in Delhi
Harish Kotian looks back on VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid's 376-run partnership at the Eden Gardens that halted Australia's run of 15 consecutive Test victories.
"I feel honoured as I have been bestowed with one of the most prestigious awards. It is indeed satisfying that my achievements while playing for the country have been rewarded. The biggest honour, however, is the opportunity to represent my country for so many years," said Laxman after the announcement was made.
'...VVS Laxman is going to Zimbabwe but new coach will join from Sri Lanka series'
VVS Laxman substituted grit for flair as he helped India recover to 228 for six against Pakistan in the first Test.
'It was amazing to see the speed with which the lines flowed from his pen!' remembers Ambassador Placido P D'Souza.
Terming the Indian Premier League spot-fixing and betting scandal as "unfortunate", former India batsman V V S Laxman on Wednesday said the Board of Control for Cricket in India is capable of restoring the credibility of Indian cricket.
The CBI, which was handed over the case only on December 6, 2004, completed the investigations in 15 months.
The doctors removed a tube that had been inserted in Laxman's nose while he underwent treatment in a Mumbai hospital about two and half months back after suffering multiple strokes, sources said.
"The whole idea of this launch and fund-raiser on May 5 is to build a corpus and to support more (children)," he said.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Minister Anil Vij on Sunday said he will stake claim for the chief minister's post if the party returns to power in Haryana after the October 5 assembly polls.
Performing well overseas should be India's top priority and the Test squad needs 'smart preparation' every time they embark on a tour, according to former India batsman VVS Laxman.
A woman allegedly killed her three-year-old daughter after a fight with her husband in Maharashtra's Nagpur city and roamed around 4 km on streets with the body before informing the police about the incident, officials said on Wednesday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Wednesday announced that former cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly have been entrusted with the task of selecting the next Indian coach.
All eyes will be on star India batter Virat Kohli, who is perhaps battling the biggest form crisis of his career.
Indian Space Research Organisation on Tuesday paid tributes to iconic cartoonist R K Laxman by posting online his cartoon 'common man' reaching Mars, the last of his works, which he had sent to the space agency after the success of the historic Mars Mission.
A contest against Australia brought out the best from Indian stalwart VVS Laxman, who announced his retirement a few days ago, says former Aussie pacer Brett Lee, adding such was his domination that the Hyderabadi seemed to score a hundred every time the two teams met.
The legendary hockey goalkeeper represented India in three successive Olympics, from 1956.
Veteran Tamil Nadu batsman S Badrinath has been recalled into the Indian Test team as replacement of the just retired VVS Laxman.
VVS Laxman's fluent century guided India to a convincing five-wicket victory to level the three match series 1-1 on Day 5 of the third and final Test, at the P Sara Oval, in Colombo, on Saturday.
The Hyderabadi right-hander said his experience of playing on bouncy wickets would come handy in South Africa.
