How Tendulkar and Ganguly influenced in shaping Sehwag's career
Virender Sehwag has been considered to be one of the most destructive batsmen of his era, adopting an attacking approach each time he went out to bat. His numbers only speak volumes of how great an impact he had when wielding the bat for India.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Sehwag shared about how Indian batting legends, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly helped shape the career that he forged over the 14 years that he played for India.
The man from Delhi probably had the worst debut possible, when he scored just one run and gave away 35 runs in his three overs in an ODI against Pakistan in Mohali in 1999.
“I could not see the ball which got me out. It was that quick. Shahid Nazir ki ball par edge lag gayi and jaise taise ek single mil gaya (I got an edge of Shahid Nazir's ball somehow), but Shoaib was really quick.
“I was sitting alone in the team bus when Sourav Ganguly approached me and said, "Agar drop hota hain toh itne run maarna ki vaapas tam me aaye (If you get dropped, score so many runs that you can come back to the team),” Sehwag revealed.
Ganguly's advice seemed to have inspired Sehwag to perform well in the domestic circuit and earn his place back in the national squad. During the 2000/01 season, Sehwag scored 757 runs, for Delhi, at an impressive average of around 58.
Sehwag was selected for the 2001 tour of South Africa and made his Test debut in Bloemfontein, where he scored a century in his very first innings. When he came into bat, the 37-year-old revealed that Tendulkar gave valuable insight into how the South African bowlers would tackle Sehwag. Tendulkar told Sehwag that the bowlers would try and bounce Sehwag out.
“Gudgudi ho rahi hain paet mein? (Are you feeling butterflies in your stomach)" To this, Sehwag responded, "Woh sab chhodo sir, yeh batao kya ho raha hain pitch par (Leave all that, tell me how is the pitch behaving),” Sehwag said.
Sehwag, who played for Sachin's Blasters in the All-Stars tournament, also revealed another incident while batting with Tendulkar. It was when Sehwag was on 295, in the Multan Test against Pakistan.
“After I had my fourth six, Tendulkar came up to me and said 'Mai tere ko bat se marunga agar tune phir six maara toh (I will hit you with the bat if you hit a six again)'. I did not hit a six till I reached 295 and when I reached that score, I told Tendulkar, "Agar Saqlain (Mushtaq) aayega to mai chhakka marunga (If Saqlain comes into the attack, I will hit a six),” Sehwag said.
This incident gives a clear picture of the type of batsman Sehwag was. Forget India, even the world might not see a batsman like Sehwag step out onto the cricket field and play to entertain.
During his felicitation at the Feroz Shah Kotla, before the fourth Test between India and South Africa, Sehwag had told how he tried to do things his way and did not give much heed to everything that people advised him. However, following Ganguly's and Tendulkar's advises seemed to have worked in Sehwag's favour and shape what was a successfully entertaining career.