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As Virender Sehwag bowed out of international cricket on his 37th birthday, Sourav Ganguly, under whose captaincy Viru made his Test debut, spoke about Sehwag and his abilities which made him a true great who revolutionized the opener's role in Tests.
Sourav Ganguly, who wrote in his book that he rates Sehwag along with Sunil Gavaskar as one of the greatest openers ever, said that despite not having the kind of technique as Gavaskar did, Sehwag’s belief in himself made him the great entertainer that he was, “Viru was not as technically gifted as Gavaskar, but his transformation from a middle-order batsman to a successful opener and the loads of runs he scored both home and overseas bear testimony to his unique craftsmanship with the willow.”
Ganguly went on to add that Sehwag’s aggressive approach was what set him apart from the rest as he backed himself to take on any bowler and that the bowlers reputation did not matter to him, be it McGrath or Murali. “Sehwag revolutionized the opener's role with his aggressive approach. What set him apart was his mindset. He always backed himself to take on bowlers, irrespective of their reputation.”
Despite being criticized of taking risks from time to time, if Sehwag felt the ball was in his zone he would go after the ball and believed in himself to cross the boundary. “He has been criticized for taking undue risks at times and getting out, but if the ball landed in his 'zone', he would back himself to hit it to the boundary, or beyond. I remember Viru hitting a six to get to a hundred and send the ball over the rope to get to a double hundred.”
When Ganguly was tense and Sehwag only whistled
The Prince of Bengal went on recall an incident when Sehwag and he were walking out to chase a highly improbable 325 during the NatWest series final. Ganguly says he was extremely tense while walking out, but Sehwag walked out on to the pitch whistling nonchalantly when Ganguly asked him to concentrate on the task ahead, Sehwag said to him, “Captain, we will win this game!”
Sehwag scored only a 40 in that game but nevertheless India went on to win the game after a 120 run stand between Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif. It was after this win that Ganguly historically took off his shirt and celebrated at Lord’s, a moment that will be ingrained in the minds of Indian fans for the years to come.
Ganguly also said that Sehwag didn’t care much about his technique, but because he had his basics he had could easily negotiate most bowlers, “Sehwag didn't dabble too much into technique because he liked to keep things simple. Yet, he had the basics right. The head was always still and the bat always came down straight.”
Ganguly, who had the opportunity to see Viru from close quarters, rates his century against England at Trent Bridge in 2002 as one of his best knocks, as Sehwag took apart the English bowling attack with considerable ease. “I have been privileged to see some of his best knocks and I would rate his century against England on a green top at Trent Bridge in 2002 as his best in Test cricket. The manner in which he negotiated Hoggard, Harmison and Flintoff's swing convinced me that he had it in him to be a top-class opener.”
Sehwag was equally good against spinners and loved using his feet against them. He would often take the spinners on and deposit them in the stands at every chance he got. Viru rated Murali as the toughest spinner he ever faced, but Ganguly assured that he was sure that Viru was the toughest batsman Murali ever bowled to, “I remember Sehwag decimating a Sri Lanka attack comprising Murali and Herath in making 284 in just under a day's play at the Brabourne Stadium in 2009. He fell for 293 the next day, failing to complete what would have been his third triple century, but he never had any qualms about it,” Ganguly said.
Ganguly also spoke about Sehwag’s ability to pick up wickets and break partnerships with his off-spin. “I always treated him as a trump card. It was only because of his ability as a spinner that allowed me to play three pacers, and he rarely disappointed.”
Ganguly urged the BCCI to give a fitting farewell to the Delhi dasher who called time on his extraordinary career this week, during the final ODI at Mumbai.
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