5 Indian lower order batsmen who were promoted to the top order

#1 Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag was a character of his own, unruffled by noises around him

A swashbuckling and cavalier batsman, Virender Sehwag was one who was hard to be pigeonholed in the opener’s slot. Sehwag thrived on living by the sword and the character of pinch-hitter rubbed off on him.

The opener’s role was eminent of wearing down the shine of the leather and Sehwag didn’t quite fit in there. He came in the lower order in the ODI format, but quite astonishingly, didn’t hit his straps as the records suggested below will reveal. The panic button was pressed and Sehwag was handed over the responsibility of playing the new ball.

It turned out to be a masterstroke for his own team and a nightmare for opponents. He completely changed the concept of new-ball batting and with the help of audacious stroke-play and exquisite hand-eye coordination, gave a new dimension to opening the batting.

In the ODI format, after 2001, he opened for India regularly. In the Test format, he played in the lower order for one year before moving up the order. Out of the 12 Test innings down the order, he played 5 and 4 innings versus South Africa and England respectively.

India’s tour of South Africa in 2001 turned out to be his debut series and Sehwag took a liking to the Proteas bowlers with a century in his debut innings in Bloemfontein. The below statistics is just a small depiction of Sehwag’s illustrious career.

One Day Internationals

Position	Matches	Runs	Average	Centuries	Highest
6 and below	10	140	17.50	0	58
1 to 5	241	8133	35.67	15	219
Tests
Position	Matches	Runs	Average	Centuries	Highest
6 and below	8	374	41.55	1	105
1 to 5	99	8212	49.76	22	319