Often compared with Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, who retired yesterday after a storied career, was asked what separated him and his idol. The Delhi batsman’s response was: “bank balance”.
Sehwag’s quick repartee and wit off the field was in keeping with his display on the cricketing pitch, where he had a simple philosophy: if there’s a ball to be hit, go for it.
The playing surface, quality of opposition, status of the bowler or the match situation was of little consequence for Sehwag as he went about dismantling attacks with amazing returns.
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What made his feats extraordinary was that he played as an opener for best part of his 14-year career, a position that requires immense technical finesse and patience to succeed. Purists predicted a very short career for Sehwag, as they felt his stand-and-deliver style was not suited for the longer-format of the game.
Alarmed at his swashbuckling approach England’s legendary opener Geoffrey Boycott had termed him “talented but brainless”. Sehwag responded cheekily: “Boycott can say what he wants. He once batted the whole day and hit just one four.”
Sehwag redefined the role of an opening batsman in Tests with his belligerent approach. Small wonder he scored the fastest triple century in Tests (off 278 balls) smashing a Pakistan attack comprising Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami and Saqlain Mushtaq on his way to 309 runs. He also has a strike rate of 83.10 in 99 Tests that makes him the most attacking opener in the history of the game.
For somebody who was written off as a flash in the pan, Sehwag’s Test career that started with a century on debut in South Africa, has been nothing short of phenomenal. He averaged close to 50 in Tests scoring 8,586 runs with 23 centuries, including two triple hundreds.
He was equally at ease in the one-dayers scoring 8,273 runs at a strike rate of 104.33 with 15 centuries. He also held the then record for the highest score by a batsman in ODIs when he smashed 219 off 208 balls against the West Indies in 2011.
His assault was so brutal that he reached the 200-mark with six overs still remaining in the innings.
Sehwag’s game was based on his immense confidence and an incredible hand-eye co-ordination. Failing eyesight brought his downfall and although he made a brave attempt at a comeback wearing spectacles, he was not the same force leading to his axing from the national teams two years ago.
So where does he stand in the pantheon of greats? Definitely among the top ten because he rewrote the script for the modern opener. And above all, he left his footprint on the game despite his career coinciding with that of the greatest Indian batsmen – Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
Sehwag’s role in India’s overseas success during the noughties (2001-2010) and subsequent rise to No1 in Tests was as big as that of the other two legends. Of his 38 international centuries, 23 were scored away from home and India lost just 28 of the 104 Tests that he played.
Another redeeming feature of Sehwag’s career was that he cared little about statistics or milestones. Neither was he troubled when he was in the nineties, bringing up 22 international hundreds with either a four or a six. An incredible player indeed.
