Legendary Indian batsman VVS Laxman on Saturday (January 25) revealed that he had almost given up cricket after being overlooked for the 2003 World Cup in South Africa while saying playing for the country was the biggest inspiration for him.

India went for the all-rounder Dinesh Mongia over Laxman despite not being part of the New Zealand ODI series just before the World Cup in 2003 that was the biggest setback for him.

In the tournament in South Africa, India went on to reach the final but the Men in Blue could not clinch the World Cup title, suffering crushing defeat against Australia in the summit clash.

Laxman said on the latest episode of India Today Inspiration on Saturday, “My biggest inspiration was to play for the country. I still remember in 2003, when I was not picked up for the World Cup in South Africa. I almost gave up the game and I went and spent almost 2 months with my friends in the US who didn't follow the game so much.”

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He added, “Suddenly, I felt I was missing something and that was hitting the cricket ball and then you put the game in the right perspective, thinking you did not start playing this game to play Test match cricket or one-day or represent the country, you started playing it because you loved that sport.”

The 45-year-old also admitted that dealing with setbacks is part and parcel of a sportsperson's life, adding: “Every sportsperson has a lot of setbacks that’s the nature of the sport. But as long as you love that sport, you get up the next day and you continue to enjoy that sport.”

The Hyderabad cricketer further explained, “And enjoyment does not come only when you perform, enjoyment comes when you bounce back strong and that is a real test of your character and for that, you have to prepare. Whether I scored a 100 or whether I got a zero, my preparation was the same. I was very equanimous also because of the upbringing I had.”

Meanwhile, the former batsman also said that the family plays a huge role in an athlete's career, explaining: “When you are going through setback, you have to have a strong support system and luckily I had a very strong support system, in the form my parents, in the form of my uncle, who was my mentor, in the form of my coach and once I got married, in the form of my wife.”

Laxman signed off by saying, “Not only is it important when you have a setback, but it is also important when you achieve because handling success is tougher than handling failure.”

He was retired from the game in 2012 after representing India in 134 Tests and 86 ODIs where he amassed 8781 and 2338 runs respectively.

(With India Today Inputs)