MUMBAI: India's VVS Laxman announced his retirement from international cricket on Saturday, despite his selection for the two-test series against New Zealand starting on Thursday.

The 37-year old announced his decision to retire with "immediate effect" at a news conference at his home city of Hyderabad, where India will play the first test against New Zealand.

Laxman scored 8781 runs in 134 tests, including 17 hundreds. He also scored six hundreds in the 86 one-day internationals. AGENCIES