Whatever I am today, it is because of Sourav Ganguly, says Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag is regarded as one of the most destructive openers in Indian cricket history and he has given all the credit of his success to Sourav Ganguly. The Delhiite began his cricket career as a middle-order batsman but later on, Ganguly asked him to open the innings for the team and rest is history.

He was absolutely fearless while facing the bowlers in his international stint. Sehwag was not technically very sound, but his hand-eye coordination was commendable, and it has been appreciated by Sachin Tendulkar in the past.

Virender Sehwag opines over Sourav Ganguly’s importance in his career 

In an interview given to The Indian Express, the 41-year-old explained his journey from being the middle-order batsman to a successful opener. According to him, it was Ganguly who prompted him to play as an opener in the team. The former skipper also gave him the assurance to give him a fair number of chances to prove his worth.

Virender Sehwag also recalled an incident when Sourav told him that only opener’s spot is vacant in the team. If he wants to play for Team India then he will have to open the innings. Otherwise, the Delhiite had to wait for his chance in the middle. “He explained to me that the opening slot was vacant, so if I take it, my place in the side will be guaranteed. But in case I was against the idea and wanted to stick to the middle order.

“I would have to wait for someone to get injured. But what convinced me was his very practical suggestion that he was to give me later. I will give you three to four innings as an opener. Even if you fail, you will continue to play. And before I drop you, I will again give you a chance in the middle (order),” former Indian opener said.

The 41-year-old also feels that skippers should give clarity to their players that creates a trust factor. “It was a very fair treatment. It’s this clarity that makes a player trust his captain. That gave me a lot of confidence. I thought, Dada is backing me so much, so let me try. Whatever I am today, it is because of him,” Virender Sehwag added.

He scored 8586 runs in Test cricket and 8273 runs in ODIs and ended his career as one of the most successful openers in the history of Indian cricket.

Quiz: How well have you followed Bumrah’s Test career?

[interaction id=”5da47ec85b2f78869081fe3f”]