17 of the most remarkable quotes by Virender Sehwag
Here is a look at some of the best quotes by former Indian opening batsman Virender Sehwag.
1. On Geoff Boycott, who had referred to him as 'talented but brainless': "Boycott can say what he wants. He once batted the whole day and hit just one four.”
2. On learning that Rahul Dravid and he missed a golden chance of breaking the 50-year world record of 414 runs (held by Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy) for the opening wicket partnership by four runs. “Who is Vinoo Mankad? I don’t know anything about them. I haven’t even heard about them.”
3. When asked for the millionth time what was the difference between him and Sachin Tendulkar: “Our bank balance.”
4. On his 284 not out in less than a day: “In the dressing room they told me I was hitting the good balls too, but if you look at it my way, I hit only the bad ones.”
5. To security people in Durban who insisted he and Gautam Gambhir not walk out on their own late in the evening: “No, there is no danger. We are the most dangerous batsmen in the world.”
6. On life: “It doesn’t matter if you have one billion rupees in your bank account or one rupee. This is one life you get, and you’d rather spend it enjoying whatever you have, rather than thinking, 'Oh, I should have scored seven more runs, or I should get more money.'"
7. To Paddy Upton and Eric Simons on what advice he gave VVS Laxman when he was on 94 (Sehwag was running for the injured Laxman): “Obviously when you are on 94, you can get there with just a six.”
8. When asked about ‘the zone’: “I have asked Tendulkar many times what the zone is. He tells me that’s when ‘I see nothing except the ball’. I have asked Rahul Dravid the same thing. He says sometimes when he is in really good form, he sees the ball and not even the sightscreen, the non-striker, the umpire or who is bowling. I ask how that is possible. I have never entered that zone.”
9. On the nightwatchman ploy being employed by Team India: “What is the difference between batting at the end of the day or at the start? If you make a mistake you’ll get out. Whenever a captain or coach asked me for a nightwatchman I would say, ‘No, why? If I can’t survive 10 or 20 balls now, then I don’t think I’ll survive tomorrow morning.’ I believe that’s the best time when you have the opportunity to score runs, when everybody on the field is tired and you can score 20 runs off those 20 balls.”