Virender Sehwag was a maverick opener who played the game in spirit like no one else. Sehwag was always expressive from the first ball and was undoubted among the most entertaining cricketers of all time. The Nawab of Najafgarh was also entertaining off the field with his witty and outspoken remarks in the press.
Below, are the top 10 quotes, made by Virender Sehwag during the course of his career.
1. “Beta beta hota hai aur baap baap.”
Sehwag said these words to menacing Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar while batting. Akhtar was dead tired and was instigating Sehwag to hook him, to which Sehwag replied that ask your father (Sachin Tendulkar) on the other end to hook you, and he will oblige. Tendulkar soon hit Akhtar for a six and then Sehwag taunted him by saying, “Beta beta hota hai aur baap baap.”
2. “Bangladesh can’t beat India in Tests. They are an ordinary side.”
During India’s 2010 tour of Bangladesh, the hosts had made some remarks about trying to beat India in a test. Sehwag put them to rest when he said the above lines and there was no looking back.
3. “Everyone had a good match except Sreesanth.”
Sehwag openly admitted that everyone in the side had a good game apart from mercurial pacer S. Sreesanth. He said this after India’s opening game against Bangladesh in the 2011 World Cup. Sehwag in the same match had scored 175.
4. “Have you seen my catch?”
This was a question directed towards Indian skipper MS Dhoni, who had questioned the fielding abilities of Sehwag. The latter was the stand-in captain as Dhoni had been suspended due to an over-rate ban. Sehwag, who took a stunning catch, said this when asked about his response to MS Dhoni.
5. “Kya farak padta hai?”
A cricket writer quizzed Sehwag on the nature of pitches in England, to which Sehwag said, “What’s the difference”.
6. “I don’t consider a spinner as a bowler. I never did.”
Sehwag was brutal against the spinners and treated them with utter disdain. He made it even clearer with the above remark.
7. “I found no one difficult today.”
Sehwag said this during his fabulous knock against Pakistan in Bangalore. The opener spoke his mind when he said that no bowler had troubled him on that particular day.
8. “Cricket is not like a government job where the retirement age is fixed at 60. A cricketer can retire at 30 or 60; it’s up to the player. Jayasuriya played till 42″
This was the Indian opener’s response when he was asked about his retirement after being axed from the 2012 Asia Cup squad.
9. “I don’t believe in technique; I believe in performance. If you are tough, whether you have the technique or not, you’ll survive.”
Sehwag bluntly said and meant that in order to succeed, one needed to be mentally tough, rather than being technically strong. This was one of his best remarks.
10. “Dhoni’s captaincy alone didn’t win World Cup for India.”
This was Sehwag’s response when the media people around him were understating the contribution of others and were praising just MS Dhoni for India’s 2011 World Cup win.