Sportskeeda's Top 50 Indian Test cricketers of all-time (10-1)

#8 Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag's aggressive batting helped India to enforce results on the flattest of pitches

Critics may point to his flat-footed method of batting as well as under whelming record in conditions aiding swing bowling. However, even they would agree that no modern-day batsman has managed to enthrall spectators as much as Virender Sehwag did in his pomp. Be it the spectacular assault on Australia during the 2003 Boxing Day Test or the breath-taking ambush on an unsuspecting England attack to propel India to what was then the highest ever fourth-innings chase on Asian soil, the swashbuckling opener played numerous entertaining knocks of the highest quality.

Sehwag's attacking shot-making at the top of the order converted several potential stalemates into famous Indian victories. Often unsettling fast bowlers by flaying the new ball to all corners of the stadium, he re-defined the role of an opener in Test cricket. In a lineup containing plenty of stalwarts, the 'Nawab of Najafgarh' was comfortably the most brutal batsman against the turning ball. This was perfectly encapsulated in his match-winning double ton on a dusty track in Galle against the rampaging Muttiah Muralitharan and the then exotic Ajantha Mendis. Although his gifted hand-eye coordination deserted him towards the end of his career, Sehwag went on to leave a magnetic legacy in Indian history

Career Span: 2001-2013

Statistics: 8586 runs from 104 matches at an average of 49.34 with 23 centuries and 32 fifties