Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman (pronunciation (help·info); born 1 November 1974), commonly known as VVS Laxman or just VVS, is a former Indian international cricketer and a current cricket commentator and pundit. A right-hand batsman known for his elegant stroke play, Laxman played mostly test cricket, in the middle order. He is regarded as one of the best batsmen to have played the game. VVS is known for his incredible wrist work, numerous match-winning and match-saving innings, and his special ability to consolidate unprecedented support from non-specialist tail-end batsmen to do this has accorded him a unique status among cricketing legends. Laxman performed outstandingly well against the best team of his time, Australia, and his knock of 281 against them in Eden Gardens in 2001 is often considered as the greatest ever test-innings.
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 wickets, Laxman compensated this with his masterful stroke play and fast scoring. Even after playing many great innings, consistently, and in spite of him being revered all over the world as a great batsman, he had to fight a unique, career-long battle to prove himself over and over again to find a place in the national team. In 2002, he was named one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year.