V. V. S. Laxman, Indian cricketer
Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman (pronunciation ; born 1 November 1974) is a former Indian international cricketer and a former cricket commentator and pundit. A right-hand batsman known for his elegant stroke play, Laxman played as a middle-order batsman in Test cricket. Laxman is currently the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and the head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams.
Laxman is one of the few players to have played 100 Test matches, without ever appearing in a One-Day Cricket World Cup. Despite being a relatively slow runner between the wickets, Laxman compensated with his stroke play and fast scoring. In 2002, he was named one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year.
In domestic cricket, Laxman represented Hyderabad. He also played for Lancashire in county cricket. He was also the captain of the Deccan Chargers team in the Indian Premier League during its inaugural season. Later, he played for the Kochi Tuskers IPL team. He was the mentor of the Sunrisers Hyderabad until 2021 . He is popularly called as the 'God of 4th Innings' for his exploits.
In 2011, Laxman was awarded the Padma Shri award, India's fourth highest civilian award. In 2012, Laxman retired from international cricket.