It is no rocket science. We do not have any other player to replace him. Though, there may be some contenders for the slot, such as Yuvraj Singh, C. Pujara, R. Sharma and S. Raina. It is more or less sure that it is one of these players who would get the chance to wear the blue blazer of the Indian team in place of him. But, at present, none of these players fit the bill. But, there is no alternate solution to it too. The selectors need to spend long hours before they find a suitable replacement.

Yuvraj Singh is making a comeback after a life threatening cancer, hence, he would take a year or so to come back to prime fitness. In whatever chances that Yuvraj has got in Test matches, he has failed to impress. Suresh Raina's failure against short pitch bowling has been exploited by many bowlers around the world, and he is yet to come in terms of Test cricket. If one just goes by talent, then Rohit Sharma should get the instant nod, but that is not going to happen, as he has been the most disappointing player in all formats of the game. One of the favourites to seal that berth may be C. Pujara, who has showed lots of promise in the domestic circuit. But still, this lad does not have experience by his side to walk into this Indian team. Hence, we have no direct replacement. But, the slot has to be filled.

None of these above players have the quality to match with that of VVS Laxman's, who belongs to a league of class players. He has been involved in huge partnerships with all the players of the Indian team irrespective of the batting number. He knew how to bat with tail-enders and faced majority of the balls keeping them safe at the other end and only changing strike allowing them to face only the last bowl of the over. This mostly happened during his latter stages of his career and slowly, he began to master the art and bat along with the tail, which is an art in itself. If you bring in the players of today, who has played so much T20 cricket that they would swing their bat around when they see a no. 10 or 11 batsmen at the crease. But, VVS was special as he knew about the value of time in test matches. Whoever replaces this Indian star will take another 3-4 years to learn the value of time, that too, if they last the demand of Test cricket.

VVS Laxman played according to the situation of the game, as he had the talent to move along at a good rate too. He was one of the most loyal and respectable player that the Indian team ever produced. He was never involved in any controversies too. He was a quiet player, who did all his talking with his bat. Now, the world is surely going to miss the master craftsmen at work with his willow.