Why we will sorely miss Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag was like no other

A person who can score 195 runs in the first two sessions of a Boxing Day Test match in Australia is a mad one may say. Attempting to go for a six on 295 is again madness unplugged, but one must realise our protagonist had a methodology in what he did, or else getting to those daddy numbers are not easy.

Cricketers come, they impress and then they leave. Very few are actually remembered after they retire, but certainly, Virender Sehwag will not be forgotten anytime soon. Like Mark Greatbatch did for ODIs, Virender Sehwag changed the dynamics of Test cricket and brought in his own diktat.

The purists say that opening in Test match cricket is the most important aspect; they say that one needs to have the temperament and the art of leaving balls and tiring down the bowlers, but Sehwag was just the total opposite. He was always on the lookout for runs no matter what and had a very uninhibited approach which can be compared with the very best.

‘Viru’ as he was popularly known, was born into a Jat family to a grain merchant father. He attended Arora Vidya School and finished his graduation from the iconic Jamia Milia Islamia. His love for the game incepted when he was gifted a toy bat when he was just seven months old. He later asked his parents to allow him to play the game, as he wasn’t good with studies.

Sehwag made his Test debut against South Africa at Bloemfontein in November 2001. Batting at No.6, he scored a ton and in the process added 220 runs with Sachin Tendulkar for the fifth wicket. He smashed 105 runs in a belligerent manner against the likes of Pollock and Donald. Those days, smashing the two big Protean bowlers was no mean task.

In just his sixth Test match, he was asked to open the batting against England at the Mecca of cricket, Lords. He came up with the goods scoring a 96-ball 84 which was unheard off as a Test opener and also backed it up with a free-flowing 106 at Trent Bridge.

He was aggressive in his approach and that always kept his fans on their toes with their heart skipping a beat every now and then. Australia’s Michael Slater, some would say, used to adopt the same approach, but the difference lay in the fact hat Sehwag used to score really big. He has the most double-tons for any Indian in Tests, six to be precise. He has two triple tons in Tests; enviable for anyone, especially openers, and one of them being the fastest ever.

Sehwag opened the innings with various partners, but former Delhi teammate Gautam Gambhir was his most successful pairing. In 87 innings together, they amassed 4412 runs at a sparkling average of 52.52 with 11 tons between them. The point is when the openers get you off to such starts you always end up gaining an advantage.

Sehwag was a player who never went into complications and kept things simple. In an interview, he was quoted as saying, “I see the ball, I hit it, but I know where the gaps are.” That is what makes Sehwag a ‘once in a lifetime cricketer’.â??â??