Video: Watch Rahul Dravid's tribute to Virender Sehwag
Former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid paid tribute to his former Indian teammate Virender Sehwag in a video posted by the BCCI. Sehwag was earlier felicitated today before the fourth Test between India and South Africa commenced.
Dravid, the current India Under-19 coach, delivered a short message via BCCI's official social media account and spoke highly of the dashing Indian batsmen who entertained everyone, barring the opposition bowlers.
Sehwag and Dravid almost broke the record for the highest opening partnership in 2006 when they put on 410 against Pakistan in Lahore. The Indian pair fell short of the then 50-year-old record, held by Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy, by just three runs. Two years later, the 413-run record was broken by South African pair Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith.
Dravid's top five Test partnerships include two with Sehwag, which goes to show that their contrasting batting styles did work wonders for India.
On Tuesday, Dravid delivered the fourth annual Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi lecture in New Delhi. The former Indian captain is quite the eloquent speaker, which particularly came to light when he delivered a speech at the Sir Donald Bradman Oration in 2011. He was the first non-Australian to have been invited to speak at the prestigious event.
In the tribute video, Dravid spoke about how honoured he felt playing alongside the swashbuckling batsman. He also mentioned how Sehwag was a source of happiness for cricketers and cricket lovers all over the world.
Dravid highlighted the characteristic that made Sehwag the legend that he has become as his ability to add that extra spark on the field as well as in the dressing room. Dravid finished by wishing Sehwag and his family the best.
Here is the full video (Video courtesy of BCCI):
Rahul Dravid's special message to @virendersehwag https://t.co/lesFaPnBBs
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 3, 2015
Entire Indian team gathers for the felicitation to Sehwag. Love this side to our game.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) December 3, 2015