MCC Honours VVS Laxman With Honorary Life Membership
May 11, 2017 at 11:09 PM
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has awarded VVS Laxman with an honorary life membership for his contributions to the game. The Hyderabad batsman, known for his wristy playing style, now joins the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan who precede him in the list of Indian cricketers who have been bestowed with the honour.
Laxman said:
“It’s an absolute honour to become a member of such a prestigious and historic cricket club. I have always admired the rich heritage the Club stands for and I look forward to being a part of the incredible culture of the Club.”
John Stephenson, MCC Assistant Secretary (Cricket) said: “It’s a pleasure to welcome VVS Laxman as an Honorary Life Member of the Club. He was a wonderfully talented batsman and a fantastic servant to cricket in India, making him fully deserving of this honour. It was always a joy to watch him when he played here and we look forward to him returning to Lord’s as an MCC Member.”
The 42-year-old enjoyed a successful 16-year international career with India forming one part of the famed ‘Fab-four’ of the Indian line-up along with Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly. During his time at the highest level, he featured in 134 Tests and 86 One Day Internationals (ODIs), scored 8,781 Test runs at an impressive average of 45.97 and 2338 ODI runs at 30.76.
Laxman is still remembered for his epic 281* against Australia in the historic 2001 home series against Australia. There have many other occasions as well where the wristy batsman has outshined everyone. He also earned fans outside India as well while playing for the England county club, Lancashire. He represented the club for two different stints in 2007 and 2009.
In 2008, Laxman graced the T20 format in the inaugural Indian Premier League where he captained the Hyderabad-based Deccan Chargers. His impressive performance in the 20 version of the game proved that there was no shortage of versatility in him.
Laxman eventually retired from all formats of the game in 2012 and was later felicitated in his home state. The Northern stand of his native ground – Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, was also renamed after him.
At present, the legendary cricket is busy mentoring the next generations of superstars with the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The team tasted great success under his mentorship as David Warner led SRH to their maiden IPL title win last year. His influence has been great this season also as the team