The former Australian pacer acknowledged the greatness of this Indian batsman.
VVS Laxman reserved his best for Australia throughout his 16-year-long career playing for India. The wristy magician took his game to another level whenever faced-up against the mighty Aussies, the toughest bowling attack in that era. For which, Laxman will forever be hailed amid the cricketing fraternity.
In the 29 Tests played versus Australia, Laxman scored 2,434 runs at an average of 49.67, including 1,236 runs at an average of 44.14 in Australia.
As many as six of his 17 Test hundreds came against the numero uno side of the time, with four of those scored on tours down under.
“It was so hard to get through his technique, a beautiful technique, wasn’t scared of the ball, had a lot of time and great foot movement," said Brett Lee, acknowledging Laxman's greatness on Star Sports' show 'Cricket Connected'.
Laxman the ODI batsman isn't raved about as much, but even in the 50-over version, he excelled against Lee's countrymen, scoring 736 runs at an average of 46.18 in 21 matches, including four tons.
"He had that cheekiness about him and that cheekiness in a batsman is hard sometimes because when they’re cheeky and on song, they don’t care who’s bowling at what pace, they’ll get through it and they’ll make you pay and hurt," said the former Aussie quick, who played 76 Tests and 221 ODIs for Australia.
"And VVS sort of had that knack of knowing when a person’s about to get through his spell. He would get through the tough time and then cash in when need to. It was great fun to bowl against him," Lee added.
(Inputs from HT)