Virender Sehwag

Profile

It took a while for Virender Sehwag to come out of his shell. But when he finally shelved his fearful nature and broke loose, without caring for consequences, he steadily established himself as one of the most dangerous batsmen in world cricket.

One can probably sight the Tri-series in Sri Lanka in 2001, involving India and New Zealand, as the tournament which saw Sehwag’s transition. Tendulkar-less, the Indian top order was trying in vain to find an opening partner for Sourav Ganguly. After various failed experiments, then lower-order all-rounder ‘Viru’, as his team-mates fondly call him, was promoted to walk the turf alongside the elegant left-hander. A century off 97 balls in a mammoth opening stance during a do-or-die match against New Zealand helped India book an unlikely finals spot after losing its opening three encounters in the tournament. It also changed his role in the side, from a bowling all-rounder to an opener cum part-time spinner. After a spree of fifties later in the year, Sehwag earned his maiden Test cap against South Africa. Playing again in the lower-middle order, he scored a century on debut. Against England in 2002, the failures of Shiv Sunder Das, Deep Das Gupta and Wasim Jaffer to solve India's opening woes allowed Sehwag to make the Test opening slot his own. Again, a century in relatively quick time ensued, and inevitable comparisons began to be drawn with Sachin Tendulkar. But with time Sehwag would go on to carve his own niche.

With a well-advanced back-lift set to hammer the oncoming delivery with minimalistic footwork, Sehwag's frugal run acquisitions would make him arguably India's most feared batsman. It also helped him set various strike-rate related records, aside from being India's first ever batsman to score a triple hundred in Tests. After Rahul Dravid replaced Sourav Ganguly as Indian skipper, Sehwag's consistency over time was rewarded with a vice-captaincy appointment. But a poor World Cup for the duo, owing in part to Sehwag's dip in form, would see him dropped and VVS Laxman being handed the deputy role. The Haryanvi would return to re-establish his credentials, and form successful opening pairs with Sachin Tendulkar and Delhi teammate Gautam Gambhir. Both partnerships helped India in its journey to becoming one of the most dominant teams in world cricket.

Sehwag opened his account in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup with a smashing 175 not out in India’s first match against Bangladesh. That score remained the highest individual score of the tournament. He was a constant support to Team India’s batting line-up and made an extensive contribution towards the team’s historic win.

Record books were forever updated as centuries kept on coming. Two years upon his return, Wisden recognised him twice in succession with their best honours. He would also change the tide for Indian batsmen, often considered technically astute and cultured, but never one to dismantle bowling attacks. As the game transitions into being a more entertaining medium, being played at a faster pace, Sehwag would certainly go down in history as one of the catalysts who actuated the same.

• Along with legends Don Bradman and Brian Lara, Sehwag became the third player to cross the 300-run mark in Tests twice.
• He holds a distinct record for Test hundreds converted into scores of 150 plus. He achieved this 11 consecutive times, surpassing Sir Don Bradman's record of seven.
• Sehwag became the first to retain Wisden's "Leading Cricketer of the Year" honours in 2010. In the same year he also received the ICC Test Player of the Year award.

Career