Virender Sehwag was among all time greats of the game as his destructive batting simply changed the perception of modern day cricket. There has been hardly any bowler on this globe, who has been left unscathed from the fury of Sehwag’s willow. When the Nawab of Najafgarh was in full flow, no bowler on this planet could have the audacity to stop him.
But Sehwag was not just a great batsman. Off the cricket field, he’s a very friendly person and the sort of guy who makes an ideal companion while sharing a drink. There are several anecdotes that are related to this batting legend over the course of his career. Below, we glance through ten such tales that revolve around Virender Sehwag.
1. During his county stint for Lancashire, Sehwag was batting alongside Jeremy Snape, the number 8 batsman. Abdul Razzaq was reverse swinging the ball viciously and that meant a grave danger for Lancashire. Sehwag then drew an innovative plan to counter the reverse swing. When Snape made Sehwag aware about the danger, Sehwag asked him to leave the matter to him. The Indian opener then hit one monstrous six that went sailing out of the ground. The umpires had no choice but to call for another ball and then once the new ball came in, Sehwag said, “The new ball won’t swing for some time. We are safe for another two hours.”
2. During his epic knock of 309 in Multan, Sachin Tendulkar asked Sehwag to not take any risks before he got to the score of 295. Sehwag then literally took Sachin’s words to heart, and on reaching the score, stepped out of the crease to whack Saqlain Mushtaq for a mighty six to bring up his triple ton. Bringing your triple ton with a six indeed requires a lot of courage!
3. During his same knock of 309, Sehwag was determined to get to a triple ton. He did not want to miss the triple ton at any cost, as VVS Laxman had missed it a few years ago against Australia when he was dismissed for 281. As soon as he reached his triple century, Sehwag pointed out his bat towards Laxman.
4. One fan came up to Sehwag once and asked for an autograph on his bat. Sehwag signed on the back side of the bat and said, “If I sign it on the front, you will not play with this bat anymore. So I am signing it on the back. Best of luck!”
5. During a tour of South Africa, Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were asked by the security to not go out for dinner after a certain time as it could have been dangerous. To that, Sehwag replied in his cool fashion, “No, there is no danger. We are the most dangerous batsmen in the world.”
6. En route to his second triple century, Paul Harris, the South African spinner began to bowl a negative line when Sehwag was on 291. On realizing that, Sehwag openly challenged Harris and said, “Come around the wicket and I will hit you for a six first ball.” He did the exact same thing as he charged out of his crease to hammer Harris for a six on the very next ball.
7. In a Ranji Trophy game, Sehwag once purposely swung and missed on two occasions. Seeing that, the bowler pitched on a fuller length and the next two deliveries were dispatched to the boundary.
8. Recently, when Shaun Pollock was asked who the toughest batsman he bowled to was, he replied, “Virender Sehwag.”
9. During a press conference, Sehwag was once quizzed if he could score a double ton in ODI’s. Sehwag said he absolutely could and he eventually did against the West Indies in Indore.
10. When he was dismissed for an epic 195 against Australia in Melbourne while trying to hit a six, Harsha Bhogle said to Sehwag that he could have got to his double ton by taking a few singles. To that, Sehwag replied, I just missed the six by 3 yards.”