Jayawardene ranks Laxman as one of the purest batsmen to have ever played the game

With Indian batsman VVS Laxman announcing his retirement from international cricket recently, there have been a flood of tributes flowing in from cricketers past and present.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene is just one of the current cricketers who paid his tributes to Laxman, stating that the cricketing world will miss seeing the Indian batsman showcase his talent on the field with the bat.

Jayawardene also labelled Laxman as one of the finest cricketers of his generation.

“Laxman was one of the finest players of our times and world cricket will miss him. He has contributed a lot to the game and to his country’s success,” Jayawardene said.

Jayawardene admitted that he was surprised with Laxman’s decision to retire, but stated that the Indian batsman had loyally served his country for 16 long years.

“I don’t know under what circumstances he retired but every international cricketer will have to take a call finally and he must have thought it was time for him to go. Rahul (Dravid) surprised people when he decided to quit. VVS must also have some plan for his future. But you cannot take away his achievements as a cricketer. As a person also he is a fantastic guy,” Jayawardene added.

Laxman announced his retirement before the start of India’s home series against New Zealand, and what shocked the cricketing community even more was that he retired even though he had been included in the country’s Test squad for the two Test series.