Became famous by not giving strike to Tendulkar: Virender Sehwag

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag is renowned for being an outspoken character. He is as flamboyant off the field as he was on the field during his playing days. He is not one of those characters who would beat around the bush. The former Delhi cricketer is to the point with his verdicts on the questions fired at him. Recently, Virender Sehwag spoke at length about the initial days of cricket and his camaraderie with legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

Recently he was invited at the inauguration of the Cricket Beyond Technique in Bengaluru. He addressed a huge swarm of young cricketers and their parents at the function. In one of the keynotes made by Sehwag in the address, the former player stressed on the importance of being humble. He remarked that legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has been the most humble cricketer in the history of the game. He cited an example for the same and quoted,

He cited an example for the same and quoted, “During the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, as we were getting down from our team bus, there was a disabled man who was waiting nearby to greet us. Only Sachin walked up to him, shook his hand, and took a photograph. Nobody other than Sachin even said hello to that disabled man. He is the most humble person on earth, and that’s the reason for his success.”

He further asked the players to have faith in their abilities. He emphasized the point that it is the self-belief and the self-confidence that comes in handy in times of crisis and pressure situations. He cited his own example when he was dropped from the national side. It was his self-belief that helped him stage a comeback in the Indian team.

“The moment you lose self-confidence, you lose everything. When you have self-confidence, you gain everything. When I was dropped from the Indian team, I didn’t lose heart. I knew that I have a lot of talent, and that I could score big runs against any bowling attack in the world. I then made big knocks in domestic cricket, and made my comeback,” said Virender Sehwag as per the quotes in Sportstarlive.com.

Also, he added that it is important to take advice from the people one trusts. However, the ultimate call has to be taken by the thoughts of the individuals. Nothing else matters when it comes to batting.

“I listened to advice given by many people, but I did it my way. Everyone has an opinion—be it Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin or K. Srikkanth—but you are the best judge of your own batting,” Sehwag said.

Lastly, Sehwag recalled his time from the age group level days. He remembered how he batted with Arun Kumar. He recalled that Arun Kumar had advised him to take as much strike as possible during the fielding restrictions. Virender Sehwag revealed that he took the advice very seriously when he opened alongside Sachin Tendulkar in the Indian team.

“When I was 16-17, I was lucky to share a dressing room with Arunkumar. He was an opener too, and I learnt a lot from him. When Sourav Ganguly asked me to open for India, I recalled how Arunkumar would attack in the first 15 overs. I remember Arunkumar telling me that in order to succeed in the Powerplay, I have to face more balls. I applied this in international cricket, and I didn’t give (opening partner) Sachin the strike. That’s how I became famous,” conceded the former Indian cricketer.