'I was struck by his maturity, simplicity': VVS Laxman reveals admiration for MS Dhoni at the time of retirement

Former Indian middle-order batsman and one of country's best ever Test player, VVS Laxman, in his autobiography '281 and beyond' has revealed that he has thing but positive words for ex-Indian skipper MS Dhoni, despite media reports that re was a rift between two.

At time of his retirement from Test cricket, it was reported that Laxman and Dhoni did t share a great rapport, and former wasn't able to contact latter while anuncing his decision. But Laxman has put all se rumors to rest with his revelations in his book. Stating that his initial comments, wherein he mentioned it is difficult to reach Dhoni, was taken wrongly, legendary batsman wrote,

"After I informed media of my decision to retire, questions flowed. ‘Have you informed your teammates?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Have you spoken to Dhoni, what did he have to say?’ ‘Everyone kws how difficult it is to reach Dhoni,’ I joked. Little did I realise that this would trigger first and only controversy of my cricketing career."

He followed this up by writing that it was media which tried to create unrest between two by speculating what he meant, whereas in reality, he was in awe with n Indian skipper for way he behaves with ors.

"I h unwittingly provided fodder to media, who started to speculate that I h retired in a huff because MS and I h differences, that re was a rift between us. It wasn’t funny at time, but one of helines following day re, ‘VVS, retired hurt'. I waited for end of Test and n went to hotel to thank every teammate and member of support staff individually. When I met MS, he took one look at me and burst out laughing. ‘Laxman bhai, you are t used to all se controversies, but I am. Don’t take this to heart. We all kw that sometimes, facts need t come in way of a good story.’ I was once again struck by his maturity, his simplicity, and how easily he h put me at ease," he ded.

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Laxman enjoyed a stellar Test career with national team. He played 134 matches, scoring 8781 runs at an aver of 46. highlight of his career was his 281 against Australia in 2001, which helped India win one of most memorable matches of all time. In fact, name of Laxman's book comes from that very innings.