HYDERABAD: Veteran Indian batsman Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman announced his retirement from international cricket on Saturday, saying it was time to make way for the next generation.

“I am retiring with immediate effect. I think this is the right time to move on,” the stylish middle-order batsman, who turns 38 in November, told reporters in his home city of Hyderabad.

“I think it is time to give youngsters a chance at home ahead of a tough season. I have always kept the country's success ahead of personal aspirations.

“I thank the Almighty for allowing me to live my dream of playing for India.”

Laxman, better known by his initials VVS, has played 134 Tests since his debut in 1996, scoring 8,781 runs at an average of 45.97 with 17 centuries and 56 fifties.

He also scored 2,338 runs in 86 one-day internationals with six hundreds, but had not been part of India's limited-overs squad since 2006.