5 occasions when Sehwag sledged the opposition
There will never be another player like Virender Sehwag who could on his day decimate the opposition with a calm smile on his face. The man, who had made Tendulkar eat his words when he brought up his triple hundred at Multan with a six, was dubbed by the legendary McGrath as the 'most unpredictable batsman' he had seen.His ability to stay unruffled and nonplussed in every situation was his greatest boon. But there were times when even Sehwag got involved in a war of words, albeit most of them were very witty exchanges that show he was also a master of mind games.Here are four occasions when Sehwag sledged the opposition.Â
#1 Shoaib Akhtar (Later revealed by Sehwag at an awards function)
Speaking at an awards function in 2010, Sehwag revealed to the audience how he had once sledged Shoaib Akhtar. Akhtar kept on bowling bouncers and telling Sehwag, “Hook maar ke dekha” (Hook me if you you can). Sehwag had replied saying, “Woh tera baap khara hai non-striker end pe, usko bol woh maarke dikhayega” (That’s your father standing at the non-striker's end. Why don’t you ask him to hook you?)
Sehwag had been referring to Tendulkar at the other end and when Akhtar did bowl a bouncer to Tendulkar later, he was hooked for six. Sehwag had then told Akhtar, “Beta beta hota hai, baap baap hota hai.” (A Father will be a father after all, and a son’s a son.”
Sehwag however did not say which match he was referring to and the entire incident was later dismissed by Shoaib Akhtar as false. With no recordings of the original incident available, some suggest that it was a gimmick made up by Sehwag to please the audience.
Another alternative version suggests that this had happened actually during the Multan Test in 2003-04 and Sehwag had responded to Akhtar by saying, "Arey tu bowling kar raha hai ya bheek maang raha hai?" (Are you bowling or begging?) Even the Pakistani fielders had reportedly roared in laughter hearing Sehwag.