Laxman to announce retirement from cricket

VVS Laxman is likely to soon bring the curtain down on his international career, with a key announcement expected within the next 24 hours. One of the go-to men of Indian cricket in the last decade, and easily its most stylish in recent memory, Laxman has told his family and close circle of friends, including his long-time coach, that he was "contemplating" retirement after the two-Test series against New Zealand, which starts in his hometown Hyderabad from August 23.

"He said he is contemplating [it]," one of the Hyderabad Cricket Association officials, who spoke to Laxman, told. The official pointed out that Laxman was likely to make the decision public on Saturday.
Laxman admitted the same in this brief quote to The Hindu earlier today: "A final decision will be taken about the exact details of my plans by this [Friday] evening." Definitive word was still to come, but it is understood that Laxman was pondering the right moment to exit: whether to retire after the first Test in Hyderabad or to leave it till the end New Zealand series, after the second Test in Bangalore.
The decision may come as a surprise to Laxman fans, because it was only last week the national selectors had picked him for the home series against New Zealand. But according to the official, Laxman had confided that though he was feeling match fit, he was getting affected by the increasing pile of critical remarks against his presence in the side. "He wanted to make sure that no one should feel that youngsters were being deprived of a chance because of him. He said he wanted to go on a high and not hear or read people saying he should go," the official said.