I'm too old to play franchise leagues now, can't handle fast bowling: Virender Sehwag

Former cricketer Virender Sehwag retired from international cricket in October 2015. Popularly known as Nawab of Najafgarh, Sehwag had the reputation of toying with the bowlers from the first ball of the match. A key part of the 2011 World Cup-winning Indian team, he became famous for hitting the first ball of the match for a boundary throughout most matches of the tournament, tearing apart prime fast bowlers like Dale Steyn, James Anderson and Umar Gul.

However, the legendary batter has revealed that his hand-eye co-ordination isn't apt any more to be able to face fierce fast bowlers.

Sehwag, who is currently in the star-studded commentary panel for the ongoing DP World International League T20 (ILT20) 2025, addressed the media on Thursday, February 06, saying that he may not feature in franchise leagues as player since he has lost the touch he used to have in his active playing days. 

"If any Indian player has just retired from international cricket or IPL and if they want to play, then this tournament is a great platform for them. Like Dinesh Karthik went to SA20 and he participated there. So, we would love to see some Indian players participate in the DP World ILT20 as well. I would love to see Yuvraj Singh play in this tournament. He is the sixer king, so yes. But I can't, I am too old to play now. I can't handle fast-bowling now," the 46-year-old said at the interaction, where CricTracker was in attendance.

The cricketer-turned-commentator was asked to rate the different leagues, and rank them in chronological order. However, his response was quite a neutral one and said that he does not wish to compare one franchise league to another since all of them come with their set of advantages and excitement among fans.

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"I can't compare one league to another because the leagues are happening for the different countries. And good for the countries. IPL is good for India. BBL is good for Australia. Similarly, ILT20 is good for UAE players and UAE, Middle East. So it is difficult to pick one league. But the good part is that you can't see 9 international players playing in one team. That is happening only in the DP World ILT20," he concluded.