Interview with Virender Sehwag's coach: "Greg Chappell targeted Sehwag and wanted to ruin his career"

File picture of Sehwag and Chappell during at the Eden Gardens in 2007

Coaching a mercurial maverick like Virender Sehwag, who has uninhibited bravado and a mind of his own, can be a tall order but AN Sharma managed to do that with exemplary ease and finesse.

Sehwag, who retired from international cricket a couple of days back, swears by his coach and proclaims that he wouldn’t have been half as successful in his cricketing career if he had any other coach.

In an exclusive interview, AN Sharma talks about his equation with his pupil, his (Sehwag’s) exhilarating exploits and what sets him apart from other batsmen of this generation.

Excerpts:

Tells us about your association with Virender Sehwag over the years…

He came to my academy in March 1993. After watching him from close quarters for around 5-6 months, I was absolutely convinced that this boy is a special talent and is destined to attain great heights. He always loved to take bowlers to the cleaners and had an uncluttered mind.

I was also impressed by the fact that he had a healthy disregard for individual milestones as much as he had for bowlers. For him, the interests of the team always came first.

Was it difficult to coach someone like Sehwag who had an unorthodox technique? How did you go about nurturing him?

First of all, I don’t agree with the perception that Sehwag had an unorthodox technique. According to me, he had a robust technique which stood him in good stead throughout his international career. His head used to be still while striking the ball and his stance too wasn’t much different from other batsmen.

I always encouraged him to play his natural game which was to attack the bowlers. I am a firm believer that attack is the best form of defence. I told him to think as if he is the King while batting and never let the bowlers dominate him. He should feel like he owns the cricket ground while he is at the crease.

Of course, there were times when I would tell him to correct a few things if I spotted some glitches in his batting or technique. But more often than not, I only told him to make minuscule adjustments. I never tried to radically overhaul his style of batting.

Sehwag was primarily a middle-order batsman in the nascent stage of his career. Were you confident that he would be successful as an opener - both in the ODIs and Tests - when Sourav Ganguly catapulted him to the opening slot?

Let me tell you that Sehwag used to open the innings for our Academy and Club since 1993. Sourav Ganguly wanted Sehwag to open the innings against New Zealand in the ODI during the tri-series in Sri Lanka in 2001.

Sehwag called me up at midnight and confided in me that he was a trifle apprehensive about opening the batting. During the course of our 45-minute conversation, I managed to convince him that he has the wherewithal to succeed as an opener. He hammered a match-winning century in that match and never looked back.

It is no secret that Sehwag did not get along with former Indian coach Greg Chappell. He was, in fact, dropped from the team for about a year. How tough was that phase for him?

Greg Chappell came to India with the single-minded agenda of destroying Indian cricket. He particularly targeted Sehwag and wanted to ruin his career. He (Greg Chappell) gratuitously changed Sehwag’s batting grip which adversely affected his (Sehwag’s) performance.

Now, what did Chappell know about Sehwag’s game? Is it necessary that the grip which suited Chappell would also suit Sehwag? When Sehwag was axed from the team, I told him to adopt his earlier grip which had brought him immense success.

Frankly, that was the only adjustment he made and soon he was back among runs. I’m glad that Chappell era did not last long; if it had, Indian cricket would have been a shambles.

According to you, what made Sehwag stand out from his contemporaries?

First of all, he had the talent to back his audacity. He was incandescently intrepid and did not fear any bowler. Even the most ferocious fast bowlers could not intimidate him; on the contrary, Sehwag made many fast bowlers shiver with fear.

Secondly, he was a complete team man and never cared for personal records. Whether he was batting at 94 or 194 or 294, he had the heart to always go for a big shot rather than just stick around and plod away.

Everyone still fondly remembers his double ton at Galle (vs Sri Lanka in 2008) when he refused a single while batting at 199 to shield the no.11 batsman. Not many batsmen can do that.

Which is the Test innings of Sehwag you reckon is his best?

You know I don’t watch most of his innings Live on TV or at the stadium. I have this superstition that he might get out cheaply if I watch his innings. But if I have to pick one innings then his triple century against Pakistan at Multan in 2004 is the best innings I have ever seen by any batsman.

Sehwag was often compared with Sachin and Viv Richards during his career. Do you see any similarities between him and the other two greats?

I would staunchly desist from comparing any two batsmen. These comparisons do not hold water. Each batsman has different skills and mindset. Sehwag is compared with Viv since both were belligerent and explosive batsmen; while comparisons with Sachin emanated because their follow-through after playing the shots looked a bit similar.

But if you closely observe their styles of batting, they all are different batsmen with different strengths. Only similarity is that all these 3 are great batsmen.

Last question... Despite all his remarkable feats and stupendous success, Sehwag missed out on captaincy. Do you think he would have been a good captain?

I think Sehwag had all the traits and qualities to be a successful captain. He was as aggressive in his tactics as he was in his batting style. His overall approach to cricket was to always lead from the front and take the attack to the opposition.

Be it batting, bowling, field settings, tactics, Sehwag never believed in being defensive. He was a team man and always got along well with his team-mates and helped youngsters.

Look at Ganguly… According to me, he is the best captain India has ever produced. He backed the talented cricketers and injected aggression in them. Sehwag learned a lot from him.