Laxman was a member of the Indian team that was one of the joint-winners of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, the title being shared with Sri Lanka.

"[1] He was equally skilled against both pace and spin, with great timing and outstanding ability to place the ball splitting the tightest field positions.

Laxman was particularly skillful in using his wrists (reminiscent of his role model and fellow Hyderabadi, Mohammed Azharuddin) that allowed him to place the same ball to different areas of the field.

Standing tall and still at the crease, Laxman had a keen awareness of the off-stump and a polished ability to dispatch the bad ball.

[11][12][13] Nevertheless, Laxman batted particularly well with non-specialist lower-order batsmen, and was able, with their support, to save and win numerous matches for India (for example, the Mohali 2010 Test against Australia).

[28] However, he was named in the South Zone squad for the 1994–95 Duleep Trophy in the back of his impressive outings for India Under-19s, but he failed to score big in the tournament.

[30] He had another brilliant Ranji season the next year, as he piled 775 runs in just 11 innings at an average of 86 with 3 centuries[31] and a best of 203* that came against Karnataka in the semi-final, which Hyderabad eventually lost.

[32] He was picked to play for Rest of India against Karnataka in the Irani Cup and also in the Board President's XI squad against the touring Australian team.

In their final County Championship game of 2007, against Surrey at the Oval, Laxman scored a century in the second innings in which Lancashire were chasing 489 to win.

Adam Gilchrist took over as captain and led the side in the next two seasons as well; Laxman did score 155 runs from the 6 games that he played at an average of 31 and strike rate of 118.

[38] He played just one Test in the South African tour the following month and was unable to cement his place in a star-studded Indian middle order.

Though he was selected in the Test squad that toured New Zealand in 1998, he did not get to play a single game as Ajay Jadeja was preferred over Laxman to open the innings with Sidhu.

He scored 167 in the third and final Test match at Sydney when the rest of the batsmen struggled to cope with Glenn McGrath's destructive bowling,[46] a rare high point for India in an otherwise disastrous tour.

Despite this success against an attack containing both McGrath and Shane Warne, Laxman apparently decided that he would return to domestic cricket, rather than continue playing as opener, a role which he believed did not suit him.

In the first Test at Mumbai, Laxman made 20 and 12, as the entire Indian batting line-up, with the exception of Sachin Tendulkar, capitulated, leading to a 10-wicket defeat.

Laxman's performance was of enormous consequence: India had been on the brink of an innings defeat but went on to win the Test and the series, denying Steve Waugh's conquest of the "final frontier".

[55] In the Coca-Cola Tri-Series later that year in Sri Lanka, Laxman scored 212 runs in 7 matches with two fifties and a decent average of 36.

After bad performances in the Test series against Zimbabwe, he did well in the first two ODIs scoring 75 and 52, but couldn't convert the starts into big knocks in the next three matches.

He scored 148 in the famous Adelaide Test, sharing a triple century partnership with Rahul Dravid, which India won by 4 wickets.

Beginning with the series in Pakistan in 2004, Laxman had only[clarification needed] Test centuries to his credit, with one coming against a weak Zimbabwe side.

He struggled against his favourite opponents Australia in the home series in October–November 2004, although his 69 in the low-scoring final Test at Mumbai was instrumental for India to record a consolation victory.

In ODIs, Laxman was left out persistently since Greg Chappell took over as coach in mid-2005, mainly on account of his slow ground fielding and running between the wickets; Laxman is a highly regarded close-catching fielder in stationary positions but in ODIs, these positions are generally disused except for the opening phases of the match, and players otherwise have to patrol substantial spaces and retrieve balls.

In the 2007 tour of England Laxman produced three good innings, two of which were half-centuries and a vital 39 that helped India draw the first test at Lords.

[61] He, like all other Indian batsmen, struggled in Sri Lanka against the spin duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis later in July–August that year.

[citation needed] Against Australia, in the Border–Gavaskar Trophy later that year, Laxman was in top form as he scored 381 runs from 4 Tests with a double-hundred and two fifties.

During the third Test at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, Laxman scored an unbeaten 200 in the first innings with characteristic use of his wrists and flicks through the leg side.

Laxman helped India to level the series with Sri Lanka in August 2010 when he hit 103 not out in the run-chase, resulting in a five-wicket win in the Third Test, after scoring 69 in the first innings.

In the second innings, India were struggling at 94/5 and he put on crucial partnerships with Dhoni and Zaheer Khan to help his team to 228, giving South Africa a target of 303.

After this series, there were calls from the media and former cricketers that it was time for older players like Laxman, Dravid and Sachin to consider retirement.

The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) was set up by Anurag Thakur (then Secretary) and late BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya.