There remains no doubt over the fact that Virender Sehwag was among the greatest entertainers this game has ever seen. The Nawab of Najafgarh simply changed the outlook of Test cricket and revolutionised the way in which the game was played by attacking the mindset of bowlers right at the very start of the innings. That probably was always the key to his success, as once he was set, none of the bowlers could recover from the initial damage caused by Sehwag’s ruthless willow.
Recalling one incident surrounding the legendary batsman, was India’s champion off-spinner and quickest to 250 Test wickets from an all-time perspective, R. Ashwin.
Ashwin, who shared the dressing room with Sehwag for quite a few overs, opened up on an incident when Sehwag completely demoralised him in the nets.
Speaking on a cricket-based chat show, Ashwin stated that Sehwag’s ruthless approach against his off-spin in the nets once shattered all his confidence as a spinner.
“There was an incident in Dambulla, where every ball that I bowled, first ball I bowled outside off stump, Sehwag cut me. Next ball I bowled on off stump, he cuts me. Next ball I bowled on middle stump, he cuts me,” said Ashwin. The next ball I bowl on leg stump, he again cuts me. So I said, ‘what the hell is happening?’ So I just bowled a ball fuller, he stepped out and slugged me out for a six,” Ashwin said.
“So I said to myself either I am just not good enough or this guy is just way too good, which he was. But to the greater Sachin Tendulkar also, I didn’t struggle with bowling so much in the nets too. I was very inquisitive. I observed this for a few days. “But then I couldn’t hold myself back, I went to him and asked, ‘so what should I do to improve’. If I had asked to Sachin, he would have given me some tips. If it were MS, he would have given me a perspective,” he added.
“Viru said, ‘You know what, I don’t think off-spinners are bowlers. They do not trouble me at all. I just find it easy smashing them’. I said, ‘Sir you are cutting me’. He said, ‘Yeah, I hit off-spinners against the spin on the off side and for left-arm spinners, I will hit against the spin on the leg side.”
Adding that the next day things didn’t change at all and despite a change of plans he was treated in the same way again, Ashwin said,
“I said, ‘okay, fine!’ The next day I tried something in the nets he again started hitting me in different zones. He was actually treating me like a road-rag. Like how I would treat a 10 year-old kid, if I was batting against him.”