Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag is said to be one of the best openers India has got so far. Under Sourav Ganguly‘s captaincy, Sehwag got the opportunity to open for India for the first time. He went on to set successful partnerships with Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar.
The swashbuckling Sehwag believed in hitting boundaries rather than running for 1 or 2 runs. He is the only Indian cricketer to score a triple century twice in Test cricket. He has scored 8586 runs in 104 Test matches played which includes 23 centuries and 32 half-centuries.
Recently, newly elected BCCI President Sourav Ganguly believes that Sehwag was the match-winner as an opener. The former Indian cricketer said that Sehwag was not far from the legendary cricketer and the all-time best opener, Sunil Gavaskar.
“Sehwag was the biggest match-winner in that generation as an opener. I had my own belief. I told him to listen ‘Nobody comes with a batting position. It’s how you adjust’. The best players are made when they come out of their comfort zone,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by India Today.
“If I had batted at No. 4 or No. 5 in one-day cricket, I would have been half the player. The same with Sachin, he would have scored half the runs he scored if he had batted in the middle. I said ‘just get out of this comfort zone and go and play,” he added.
India rates Sunil Gavaskar as the best opening batsman, very rightly – Sourav Ganguly
Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, who started his career as an opener, played 125 Test matches and scored 10122 runs, which include 34 centuries and 45 half-centuries. Ganguly believes that Sehwag and Gavaskar had different styles from each other.
“He was special, one of the best. India rates Sunil Gavaskar as the best opening batsman, very rightly. This man was not far behind. They played differently. One fellow believed in letting the ball go outside the off-stump and making it old. The other one believed in hitting the ball and making it old. But the impact was remarkable,” Ganguly said.