VIRENDRA SEHWAG-MODERN DAY GREAT

Virendra Sehwag-the man who instills fear in the minds of opposition bowlers.319,309,293 these are 3 of his highest scores. The man who had started his carrier at no. 6 against south africa and scored a ton in the first innings of the match against the mighty proteas boasting of a lineup containing the mercurial shaun pollock, Nantie Hayward, quick man Ntini and the ever reliable all rounders Lance Klusner and Jacques Kallis. Coming in at the fall of Saurav Ganguly’s wicket when the score was 68/4 and had his role model Sachin at the other end. By the time sehwag departed india had scored 351.

This is the impact that a batsman like sehwag can make to the team’s cause. India made it to the pinnacle of test cricket because of a guy called sehwg who started to open in test cricket. One of the most destructive openers in the recent years sehwag’s contribution goes unnoticed. He is not like the solid dravid or consistent like sachin or classy as vvs but he has his own unique characteristic approach. The slash over the third man or the upar cut(a shot perfected by sachin) do bring about his dismissal many times but his fearless approach is fun to see as a sehwag fan. To think he will be consistent over a long time is not fair on him because such players believe in see the ball hit the ball philosophy.

indian bowling has always been a weak link but the impact of sehwag is such that runs are scored at a fast clip which gives the indian bowlers the much needed time to wrap up the opposition. His shot on 195 during a test match in Australia is the perfect example of the selfless game of this modern indian great. This is why after Viv Richard’s destructive batting Sehwag is considered close to him by many. Yes he too has faults like many seniors and that is he is a poor fielder but at least he is an honest tryer and he has pulled off some very good catches too. Two aspects of his game that go unnoticed mainly are his bowling and captaincy. During a test against Australia sehwag was given the ball to get a wicket and he responded brilliantly by getting adam gilchrist bowled around his leg. After his match winning and record breaking 219 in ODI’s against west indies he promptly dropped himself in the next game to give youngsters an opportunity.

If these qualities do not rate Sehwag a great player and a great person nothing will do so. One has to bring sehwag back in the team maybe at no. 4 after retirement of the “GOD OF CRICKET” if india has to travel to South Africa because his class and experience may fill some of the void created after sachin’s retirement.