All-time combined India-New Zealand ODI XI

#3 Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag – an intrepid and an inimitable batsman

Virender Sehwag is one of the modern cricket’s greatest entertainers for his daredevil approach with the willow. When it came to aggression, it is not an exaggeration to say that he sometimes put even the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in the shade.

Regardless of the format, he launched a ferocious assault on the bowling attacks right from the outset ripping them to shreds. Neither the reputation of the bowler nor the situation the team was in would make Sehwag curb his attacking instincts. While the phrase ‘nervous nineties’ is often spoken of in cricket, it seemed to have no bearing on Sehwag at all.

‘The Nawab of Najafgarh’ was never afraid of going for a six to get to his 100 or 300 or any milestone. His strike rate of 104 in ODIs is a testimony to the blistering pace at which he made his runs and the havoc he played on the bowling attacks.

Sehwag possessed his own repertoire of shots that can be found in no coaching manual and had a spectacular ability of hitting even the good balls for boundaries. He occasionally swung matches in India’s favor with his off spin too. It was incredibly tough to leave out the great Saurav Ganguly but Viru deserves to take the slot for his ‘all guns blazing’ approach.