Virender Sehwag's brand of cricket changed Indian cricket's mindset: Saqlain Mushtaq

Former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has heaped praise on Virender Sehwag for displaying a fearless brand of cricket during his time in the Indian cricket team. The mercurial former right-hand batter was destructive with the bat and thrashed all the bowlers to provide India blistering starts upfront, especially in Tests and ODIs.

In fact, Sehwag’s strike rate in Test cricket was a staggering 82.2, often making the bowlers sweat within the first 15 overs itself. ‘The Nawab of Najafgarh’ as he was fondly known, was a better red-ball player as evidenced by the fact that he scored two triple hundred- The only Indian to achieve this historic feat.

Mushtaq gave credit to Sehwag for bringing this change to the Indian team by his positive style of play. The former Pakistan spinner also expressed the way  Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya play and are testimony to Sehwag’s brand of play.

“Keep in mind that the impact Virender Sehwag had on the world, the style in which he played, the brand of cricket he played, a lot of players from India benefitted from it. The manner of batting he showed the world, changed Indian cricket’s mindset and that of its cricketers,” Saqlain said on his YouTube channel.

Mushtaq gives credit to Sehwag for bringing an attacking style of play in India

The former spinner who used to terrorize the batters with his bag of tricks also compared Rohit Sharma and Sehwag stating the former’s record might look colossal, but the way latter brought a refreshing approach at the start during the late ’90s and early 2000s should not be forgotten.

“Sehwag lifted the bar and showed the way with his self-belief. Sehwag scored a double century in ODIs so players believed it could happen, like Rohit Sharma. In fact, Rohit must have learnt a lot watching Sehwag bat,” Saqlain added.

Mushtaq also lavished praise on the former Indian swashbuckling opener by saying that what he did was with this aggressive style of batting was eclipsed only by two to three players before him in the previous era.

“Rohit’s stats may look prettier than Sehwag but Viru he had a role behind it. He played for himself, the country and changed the thinking of the players that came after him. Before Viru, only 1-2 players like Sir Viv or Zaheer Abbas who used to play that brand of cricket in ODIs and ruled over the world. They ruled the world and similarly, Sehwag also dominated world cricket.”