VVS Laxman, who has led the BCCI Centre of Excellence as head of cricket since December 2021, reflected on his tenure with particular pride, especially mentioning the Indian women's team's achievements. During a press conference, the former India batter highlighted the milestones that defined his time at the high-performance facility.
The transition of the Centre of Excellence to a new world-class facility represented a significant development during Laxman's tenure. The infrastructure upgrade moved
operations from the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to a sprawling 40-acre campus on the outskirts of the garden city, creating an enhanced environment for player development.
"First, realising and being part of the vision converted into actual execution has been the highlight. Because we were operating from that facility at the Chinnaswamy, which was great, and it still contributed towards a lot of cricketers. But this is an unbelievable world-class infrastructure. So I was part of that transition." Laxman said.
"The second thing was the development of a lot of young cricketers. Again, it's not the trophies you win. Trophies are a byproduct of what systems, the processes you set. Those systems and the processes are something which is in your control and you can focus in an objective way, understanding whether those processes are working or not working. The trophies are a byproduct of the hard work and the processes and systems you put in place," he added.
Infrastructure development and vision realisation
The Indian women's team's maiden ODI World Cup victory in 2025 stood as the defining achievement of Laxman's tenure. Head coach Amol Muzumdar and captain Harmanpreet Kaur invited Laxman to join the winning celebrations, marking a personal connection to the team's historic success.
"I was there in the BCCI box and I enjoyed watching from there - the whole celebration. I was probably one of the last ones to leave because, again, any vision you set in, any goal or ambition you establish, and if that bears the fruit, you feel really happy about it. So I think Indian women's team winning the World Cup was probably the high point," Laxman stated.
"So there are a lot of high points. Actually, watching the youngsters as with this magnitude of the infrastructure, from April to September, the entire infrastructure of such a big scale is filled with players. In that, watching right from under-16, under-15 players to your elite contracted players like Harman, Indian women's team and men's team and targeted players coming and to see them work on their game, to see them get better each and every day, it can't be more meaningful than what I've experienced," he added.
Women's World Cup triumph as the defining moment
Laxman expressed confidence that the players and programmes developed at the Centre of Excellence would continue to strengthen Indian cricket across all formats. He believed the team's success would inspire future generations to pursue excellence at the highest level.
"So I think that, again, is a high point and I think all these players, all these activities will only strengthen Indian cricket and all these players, I'm sure, will get a lot more laurels to Indian cricket and try to be the best players they can be and we always aim to be the best team in world cricket." the 51-year-old said.
Also Read: Women's T20 Asia Cup 2026 to start August 28 in Dubai, India face Pakistan on September 5
According to various reports, Laxman is in line to replace Ajit Agarkar as the chairman of the selection committee. However, fresh reports suggest that the former isn't interested in the role as of now.
