Rohit Sharma must have learnt a lot watching Virender Sehwag bat: Saqlain Mushtaq
Former Pakistan tweaker Saqlain Mushtaq has hailed Virender Sehwag and credited the former Indian opener for bringing a more enterprising style of cricket to the game. According to Mushtaq, Sehwag changed the landscape of Indian batting in Tests.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Mushtaq had the following to say about Sehwag:
"Keep in mind that the impact Virender Sehwag had on the world, the style in which he played, the brand of cricket he played, a lot of players from India benefited from it. The manner of batting he showed the world changed Indian cricket's mindset and that of its cricketers."
Mushtaq, famously known as the man behind the doosra, shared his thoughts on how Rohit Sharma may have modeled his flamboyant and destructive style on Sehwag's batting.
"Sehwag lifted the bar and showed the way with his self-belief. Sehwag scored a double century in ODIs so players believed it could happen, like Rohit Sharma. In fact, Rohit must have learnt a lot watching Sehwag bat," said Saqlain Mushtaq.
"Rohit's stats may look prettier than Virender Sehwag but Viru had a role behind it. He played for himself, the country and changed the thinking of the players that came after him. Before him, only 1-2 players like Sir Viv who used to play that brand of cricket in ODIs and ruled over the world, and Zaheer Abbas," added Saqlain Mushtaq.
In the 108 Tests Sehwag played for India, he scored 8586 runs, which included 23 hundreds and 32 fifties with a high score of 319.
His strike rates greatly varied and his best numbers were 82.2 in Tests, 104.3 in ODIs and 145.3 in T20Is. Sehwag’s ODI career saw him stack up 8273 runs from 251 matches at an average of 35.05.
Saqlain Mushtaq had an impressive career with Pakistan
Saqlain Mushtaq's doosra was a revelation to the world. The off-spinner’s delivery was strikingly similar to an off-break but would spin in the opposite direction, bamboozling batsmen in the process.
The technique was later used by spinners across the world, including big names like Harbhajan Singh, Muttiah Muralitharan, Saeed Ajmal and Shoaib Malik.
Saqlain Mushtaq reached quite a few milestones himself. He became the fastest to reach the 200 and 250 wicket-mark in one-dayers. He played 49 Tests and 169 ODIs for Pakistan between 1995 and 2004. Up until 2016, Mushtaq was the fastest bowler in the history of ODI cricket to take 100 wickets.