Laxman pulls out of Ranji one-day tournament

VVS Laxman pulled out of the South Zone Ranji Trophy one-day tournament after being left out of India's World Cup squad.

Laxman, it was reported, sent a SMS message to the Hyderabad selectors informing them of his withdrawal from the final three matches. ''He did not give reasons,'' Shivlal Yadav, secretary of Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), told the Indian Express.

Laxman is apparently upset over his exclusion from the World Cup squad. This will be the third tournament he will be missing and it's almost certain he won't get another chance. His pull out here may work to his detriment, though, with the South Zone selectors in a dilemma over whether to pick him for the Deodhar Trophy tournament later this month. His absence certainly affected the Hyderabad team in their match against Andhra at Uppal, where they were routed by 92 runs.

Laxman's last one-day appearance for India was on their recent tour to South Africa, when he was out for a first-ball duck at Centurion Park. Before that, he last played an ODI in August 2005. He's been involved in 86 ODIs overall and has managed six hundreds and ten fifties.