12 Unknown Facts about the ever dependable VVS Laxman

VVS Laxman is a cricket writer’s delight. Why you ask? Because Laxman’s initials gave cricket writers an opportunity to be clever with words. His exquisite display of subtlety and technicality with the bat forced most of them to stick with ‘Very Very Special’.

Invariably India’s turn-to man in a crisis, Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman’s contribution to Indian cricket can be summed up perfectly in the words of Aussie pacer Brett Lee who once famously said : “If you get Dravid, great. If you get Sachin, brilliant. If you get Laxman, it’s a miracle.”

Let’s take a look at 12 Unknown Facts about the man often remembered for his rescue acts, VVS Laxman.

1. Laxman, whose parents are doctors, had to make a decision between a medical career and playing cricket. He eventually opted for the willow over the stethoscope and made his mark as one of India’s greatest cricketers.

2. VVS’s initial days wasn’t a walk in the park. He had to wait three years for his 1st test century, a well-compiled 167 against the Aussies at Sydney in 2000 that made the cricketing fraternity take notice of his ability.

3. Laxman is married to G R Sailaja, a computer science post-graduate. They tied the knot on February 16, 2004 and have two children – son Sarvajit and daughter Achinta. 

4. VVS is the great grand nephew of former Indian president Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

5. Laxman’s uncle Baba Krishna Mohan played a major role in shaping Laxman’s junior cricketing career. Every time Laxman would make a valuable contribution in school, his uncle would write a copy and take it to the various dailies in Hyderabad for publication.

6. Laxman played his first U-19 international game in the same match in which Brett Lee represented Australia for the very first time. Laxman tormented the Aussies in that particular series.

7. Although Hyderabad is famous for it’s ‘Dum Biryani’, Laxman is a strict vegetarian. Laxman loves ‘rasam’ made in the typical South Indian style. He likes to have an outing at Southern Spice, a restaurant very close to his house. In his childhood, he used to enjoy going out for lunch to Hotel Kamat in Hyderabad with his parents. 

8. Laxman, interestingly, began and ended his 86-match ODI career with a duck. On his debut, he was dismissed on the third ball against Zimbabwe while he didn’t trouble the scorers on his final appearance too!

9. A reliable slip fielder, Laxman shares the record for the maximum number of catches by an non-wicketkeeper in an ODI series. Laxman affected 12 dismissals in the 2003-04 VB series, a record only matched by Australia’s Allan Border.

10. Laxman has other interests apart from cricket. He likes playing table tennis, squash and badminton during his free time. He religiously follows tennis and admires Steffi Graf and Boris Becker. 

11. An ardent devotee of Sai Baba, Laxman launched a special CD Sai produced by his maternal uncle. Sai Bodha consists of preachings, teachings and the philosophies of Sai Baba as mentioned in the Sai Satcharita.

12. His favorite film? Jerry Maguire. His favorite actor? Aamir Khan. Laxman is also said to be a massive follower of Aamir’s reality TV show ‘Satyamev Jayate’.