The relationship between former Indian batsman Virender Sehwag and MS Dhoni might be a frosty one, to say the least but that didn’t stop the former from wishing India’s skipper in the shorter formats of the game on the occasion of his 35th birthday. Sehwag, who has earned quite a reputation with his witty posts on Twitter, didn’t disappoint this time either as he proclaimed the day as ‘National Helicopter day’ as a tribute to Dhoni’s trademark ‘Helicopter shot’.
Sehwag earned a legendary status in Indian cricket with his swashbuckling style of play that had a remarkable level of consistency compared to others who followed such a style of play. He managed to break the well-established Tendulkar-Ganguly opening partnership in ODIs establishing a superb pairing with Tendulkar but it was in Test cricket that the Delhi cricketer really excelled.
Sehwag redefined the role of a Test opener with his aggressive style of play and till date remains the only Indian cricketer to score a triple century in the longest format of the game – not once, but twice. Apart from his heroics with the bat, Sehwag could also chip in with the ball, as a partnership-breaker on many occasions.
However, his agility on the field was always a matter of concern and something which ultimately led to a downfall in his relationship with Dhoni when the latter was made Indian skipper. A lack of form with the bat, but it was fielding concerns that saw Sehwag being ‘rested’ and ‘rotated’ in some matches and eventually the Nawab of Najafgarh saw his international career came to a halt.
With the lack of a proper farewell match, Sehwag was officially felicitated by the BCCI during the on 3 December 2015 during the 4th Test between India and South Africa at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium and that was when the frosty relationship between Dhoni and Sehwag came out in the open. Talking about the skippers he played under, Sehwag failed to mention Dhoni even once.
“I want to thank my first captain Ajay Jadeja and other captains Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble. I want to thank Sachin Tendulkar too," he had said.
Sehwag, however, later asserted that he had no issues with Dhoni and denied claims by Ganguly that Dhoni was the reason Sehwag was dropped from the team. He even claimed that Dhoni should captain India in the 2019 ICC World Cup.
“I don’t think any such thing happened. It was all media speculations that Sehwag and Dhoni are at loggerheads. We stay in a hotel together and play matches, I don’t think such things occurred. Had it been so, I would have been dropped much earlier. I don’t think (Sourav Ganguly’s) statement was correct.”
Taking a look at Sehwag’s Twitter post today, one can assume that there really are no issues between the pair and that they still maintain a good friendship. The ‘Helicopter shot’ might be a rare thing these days but it is the one shot that people identify Dhoni with and Sehwag has really made it even more special with his witty take on it.
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