The one thing that makes Virender Sehwag different from all others is approach he adopts both on and off the cricket field. He also deserves praise for not changing his game or himself over the years even after he became a star.
When Virender Sehwag made his debut in ODI team for India, he sarcastically told VVS Laxman that he will be first person for India to score 300 in a test match and he will never miss this opportunity. When he uttered this statement, Sehwag was not even a regular member in India’s ODI squad and nowhere in contention for India’s test team. Laxman was wondering and thought that Sehwag was joking. But Sehwag surpassed Laxman 281 in Multan and went on to register India’s first triple hundred in Test cricket. Virender Sehwag and Jeremy Snape were batting for Leicestershire against Middlesex where Abdul Razzaq was reverse-swinging the ball to a greater extend and batting was extremely difficult under overcast conditions. Sehwag came up to Snape and said, “batting is difficult, I have a plan and we must lose this ball now”. Next over when Abdul Razzaq came to bowl, he literally started walking down the pitch and whacked that ball clean out of the ground and the ball was lost. This has forced the umpires to pick another used ball from the box that would obviously not perform any reverse swing straight away. Now Sehwag went again to Snape and said, “we are safe for next two hours and ball won’t do any reverse swing”.
In a test match between India and Australia at WACA, Perth in 2008, Ricky Ponting was struggling to bat against a young 19 year old Ishant Sharma. Ishant Sharma has already bowled 7 testing overs on the trot and the skipper Kumble was planning to rest him by replacing RP Singh. When RP Singh started warming up, Sehwag who was Ishant Sharma captain in Ranji Trophy as both were playing for Delhi, called him up to the center of the pitch for a quick chat with captain Kumble. He sensed that Sharma was close to breaking through Ponting’s defense and asked him if he could bowl one more over. Backed by a senior player, Sharma agreed and so did Kumble. As per his expectation, Ishant Sharma got Ponting wicket in the very next over and India went to register a historic win at WACA against Australia which was expected to be fast and bouncy wicket.
Once on a Ranji Trophy game against Punjab at Rohtak, Sehwag went in as retired hurt and came to back as No. 10 batsman and he was running with fever. For Punjab, Harbhajan Singh was bowling and the ball was turning square on a tricky pitch. He almost hit 10 sixers in the innings before he got out. For him, it is simple. Attack is the best way of defense.
In a Ranji Trophy game against Orissa on a very poor pitch, where batting was difficult, Sehwag at one point suddenly walked down the pitch to a medium-pacer and played a wild slog, missing it by a couple of feet. The fellow opener, Aakash Chopra went to him, hoping to calm him down, but Virender Sehwag told him that he had planned to step out and get beaten, because now the bowler would try to pitch it short. Yes, Virender Sehwag was right. The bowler walked into the trap and he slammed the next two balls for boundaries.
Post the knock, he remained Laxman about his promise he made 4 years ago as a new comer to Indian team.
Once talking in a press conference, he casually announced that he will definitely score a double hundred in ODI for India. As per the statement, he scored a breezy knock of 219 of 149 balls against West Indies on 8th December, 2011 and fulfilled his promise.
It was a practice session for team India and Ashwin was bowling to Sehwag. First ball, he bowled outside the off stump, Sehwag cuts. Next ball, he bowled on the off stump, Sehwag cuts. Third ball, he bowled at middle stump and again Sehwag cuts. Fourth ball, he bowled at leg stump and again Sehwag cuts. Ashwin got annoyed and thought, either he himself is not a good bowler to bowl to Sehwag or Sehwag is too good as a batsman. Ashwin went and asked Sehwag on this and his reply was hilarious, “Aare, I don’t think off spinners are bowlers, so I cuts them.” Ashwin asked what if a leg spinner bowls? Sehwag replied, “I will hit leg spinners against spin over midwicket”. Sehwag’s theory was simple that he never allow bowlers to settle and attack them on the best balls they bowl.
On the tour of Bangladesh in 2007 a journalist asked – Can Bangladesh surprise India? His response – “No. They can’t beat us in Test matches, they can surprise you in ODIs but not in Tests.” Why?”, Because they can’t take 20 Indian wickets. Even Sri Lanka found it difficult. Bangladesh can’t. They are an ordinary side”.
A news reporter asked Sehwag that experts claim that his footwork was sloppy. Sehwag replied ‘’That’s their job. They know standard coaching methods and standard shots. No coach teaches my shot. They don’t know I used to throw 10 buckets of water on flat pitches, just to practice that shot.’’
Once when Dhoni had accused him of being a slow fielder, he took a brilliant catch and later when the press asked him about the remark, he asked “Have you seen my catch?”
On Geoff Boycott, who had referred to him as ‘talented, but brainless’. Sehwag gave the epic reply, “Boycott can say what he wants. He once batted the whole day and hit just one four.”
When asked about the difference between him and Sachin Tendulkar, he told ‘’Our bank balance”.
When TIME magazine first asked him to be on their cover, he rejected because it was not available in Najafgarh and he hadn’t heard of it. He also told, “I don’t have time for TIME magazine.”
During a Test match against Australia, as Tendulkar walked in to join Sehwag. Michael Clarke went after Tendulkar with famous Australian sledging technique, “You are too old, forget it. You need to go.” uttered Clarke. This provoked Sehwag, who walked up to Clarke and questioned him ”What’s your age?” Clarke animatedly replied saying, “23, mate!”. Sehwag then responded, “Do you know he (Tendulkar) has more hundreds in Tests and in ODIs than your age? Try someone your age, mate!” This somehow didn’t stop Clarke from sledging the legend. Sehwag went for the final kill by asking him, “Your friends call you ‘pup’, right?” Clarke replied, “Yeah, mate.” Sehwag shut him up by asking, “Which breed?”
During 2003-04, he got out on 195 runs in a Boxing Day Test at MCG, Melbourne, trying to hit a six before end of day’s play. A journalist asked him why he did not take singles, because he just missed his double century by 5 runs, Sehwag replied “I just missed the sixer by 3 yards.”
When playing a test match against Pakistan at Lahore in 2006, Sehwag and Rahul Dravid put on a 410-run opening stand. They missed the world record, held by Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy by just 4 runs (413 against NZ). Sehwag was out trying to play the upper cut for the third consecutive time, after failing the attempts in first two times. When asked about the record he said, “No, I don’t know anything about them (Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy). I haven’t even heard about them.”
When a journalist tried to get under Virender Sehwag’s, telling him, that he might never play for India ever again, Sehwag’s reply to that journalist, “And whose loss is that?”
A fan walked up to him to get his bat autographed. Sehwag signed on the back side of the bat and said, “If I sign it on the front, you will not play with this bat anymore. So, I am signing it on the back. Best of luck!”
As a captain or leader, Sehwag wasn’t one for long meetings and over-analysis. During the final over of a tense IPL match, Delhi Daredevils pacer Umesh Yadav asked his skipper where he should bowl. “Bowler tu hai ya main?” (Are you the bowler or me?) shot back Sehwag.
During a tour in South Africa, Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were asked not to go out at night as it seemed risky. But, Sehwag told the security, “No, there is no danger. We are the most dangerous batsmen in the world.”
Sourav Ganguly has said “The best way to know how Virender Sehwag’s mind works is to sit next to him in the players balcony when India were batting. Every few minutes he will clutch his head and yell, ‘Chauka gaya’ or ‘Chhakka gaya’ (Four missed or Six missed) That’s his way of expressing disappointment at somebody’s failure to take advantage of a ball that he thought deserved to be hit for four or six. That’s how he thinks, in fours and sixes.”
Sehwag thoughts on the nightwatchman ploy being employed by Team India, “whenever a captain or coach asked me for a nightwatchman I would say, ‘No, why? If I can’t survive 10 or 20 balls now, then I don’t think I’ll survive tomorrow morning. I believe that’s the best time when you have the opportunity to score runs, when everybody on the field is tired and you can score 20 runs off those 20 balls.”
Indian team’s long-time video analyst tells this story about getting a Sehwag call post-dinner on match eve. “Can you come to my room, my computer not working wanted to see something on it” said Sehwag. He rushes, expecting to see the opener keen to see the frame-by-frame action of a new pacer. “Viru bhai which bowlers you want to see?” asks the video analyst. Sehwag reply was “No yaar, I can’t download this song.”
Sehwag retirement speech was, “I want to thank everyone for all the cricketing advice given to me over the year and apologize for not accepting most of it. I had a reason for not following it. I did it my way”. That is Nawab of Najafgarh.
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