AbhishekS
Chairman of Selectors
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2008
- Location
- Mumbai, India
- Online Cricket Games Owned
-
- Don Bradman Cricket 14 - Steam PC
As you all know, I am a big fan of Viru, and love to share each and every article about him with you guys. So, here is one.
This one is a bit special, as its posted by the Indian Cricketer Aakash Chopra, supported by Anjum Chopra.
Aakash has been messaging me these kinds of article on facebook about different cricketers.
The first he had written was aboit Sachin, then Dhoni and now Sehwag.
But you guys dont worry, I will be sharing each and every bit of it with you all.
So here, the article by Aakash Chopra on Virender Sehwag begins.
How do I begin to describe a man I know as well as anyone can, yet in some ways perhaps, not know at all? He is exceptionally talented. He wields his bat like a bludgeon. He is blunt to a fault and wears his rough reserve from time to time like armour none can pierce. This much is true.
He also appears frustratingly casual about his cricket, insensitive on occasion and a man who gives a damn about what he or anyone else does. This all is completely untrue.
Virender Sehwag is more meticulous than any man I know, for behind that unconcerned exterior lies a passionate player who cares deeply. In only his second season, he played for India in an ODI at Mohali and was subsequently dropped. He was always a little circumspect against quick bowling and knew it. Unfailingly uncompromising on himself, shrewd and practical, he knew what he needed to do. He worked hard on his technique against the quick ball without letting it affect his natural ability to hit the spinners at will.
I watched him practise on the bowling machine at 90mph for hours when I could barely see the ball whizz by. He wasn't defending at that pace but playing shots all over. He conquered the art of playing fast bowling with the new ball without changing his style.
He was always the first into the nets and the last out and it would invariably be a race to see who'd have first hit if we were asked to pad up together.
And while the burden of fame has meant that the extrovert boy whose tongue often ran away with him I knew from over a decade ago, changed into a far more reserved man who chooses his words and the occasion to speak more carefully, so be it. For Sehwag has only grown, not just as a player but also as a person, a man who can be of boundless support on the field and a fast friend off it.
Nothing really fazes him and he passes on that confidence. Often, when I was in trouble, he would try and take a single to give me a break. Yet, he's very no-nonsense. In Sydney for instance, I was facing Lee, who was making the ball move for a while. He candidly admitted that if he were facing him, he would have been out long ago. At one go, he made me feel better and then, when I looked shaky, tried for a single to give me a breather. And yet again, let me face Lee.
It wasn't just me. Once, during my debut at Motera against the Kiwis in 2003, an upset Sourav was asking why people were criticizing him and had forgotten he had scored three tons on debut etc. After a while, Viru simply asked him, "Why are you even listening? I scored only one fifty in the entire World Cup. You don't need anyone else's approval. Believe in yourself."
He spoke because he cared. He would bluntly remind me of the exact number of innings I had played without a fifty and then casually add, "you'll get into trouble and I don't want that. People forget 40s and starts."
Over the years, like I said, he has become far more reserved, a touch of the untouchable that often masks the funny, passionate, committed man beneath.
Every now and then though, you get a blast from the past. Like when he gets out and begins his self-deprecating commentary in Hindi, radio-style: "Ji haan, Sehwag ko pata hi nahin chala ki ball?."
His recent stint with Delhi threw light on another facet of his personality.
Now India's vice-captain, he made each player, even the awestruck youngsters around, comfortable, by insisting everyone air their views. This was a rare refreshing insight into the mind of a man who himself spoke very little during team meetings in his early days.
But then, that's Sehwag for you. Unpredictable, unusual and very special.
This one is a bit special, as its posted by the Indian Cricketer Aakash Chopra, supported by Anjum Chopra.
Aakash has been messaging me these kinds of article on facebook about different cricketers.
The first he had written was aboit Sachin, then Dhoni and now Sehwag.
But you guys dont worry, I will be sharing each and every bit of it with you all.
So here, the article by Aakash Chopra on Virender Sehwag begins.
How do I begin to describe a man I know as well as anyone can, yet in some ways perhaps, not know at all? He is exceptionally talented. He wields his bat like a bludgeon. He is blunt to a fault and wears his rough reserve from time to time like armour none can pierce. This much is true.
He also appears frustratingly casual about his cricket, insensitive on occasion and a man who gives a damn about what he or anyone else does. This all is completely untrue.
Virender Sehwag is more meticulous than any man I know, for behind that unconcerned exterior lies a passionate player who cares deeply. In only his second season, he played for India in an ODI at Mohali and was subsequently dropped. He was always a little circumspect against quick bowling and knew it. Unfailingly uncompromising on himself, shrewd and practical, he knew what he needed to do. He worked hard on his technique against the quick ball without letting it affect his natural ability to hit the spinners at will.
I watched him practise on the bowling machine at 90mph for hours when I could barely see the ball whizz by. He wasn't defending at that pace but playing shots all over. He conquered the art of playing fast bowling with the new ball without changing his style.
He was always the first into the nets and the last out and it would invariably be a race to see who'd have first hit if we were asked to pad up together.
And while the burden of fame has meant that the extrovert boy whose tongue often ran away with him I knew from over a decade ago, changed into a far more reserved man who chooses his words and the occasion to speak more carefully, so be it. For Sehwag has only grown, not just as a player but also as a person, a man who can be of boundless support on the field and a fast friend off it.
Nothing really fazes him and he passes on that confidence. Often, when I was in trouble, he would try and take a single to give me a break. Yet, he's very no-nonsense. In Sydney for instance, I was facing Lee, who was making the ball move for a while. He candidly admitted that if he were facing him, he would have been out long ago. At one go, he made me feel better and then, when I looked shaky, tried for a single to give me a breather. And yet again, let me face Lee.
It wasn't just me. Once, during my debut at Motera against the Kiwis in 2003, an upset Sourav was asking why people were criticizing him and had forgotten he had scored three tons on debut etc. After a while, Viru simply asked him, "Why are you even listening? I scored only one fifty in the entire World Cup. You don't need anyone else's approval. Believe in yourself."
He spoke because he cared. He would bluntly remind me of the exact number of innings I had played without a fifty and then casually add, "you'll get into trouble and I don't want that. People forget 40s and starts."
Over the years, like I said, he has become far more reserved, a touch of the untouchable that often masks the funny, passionate, committed man beneath.
Every now and then though, you get a blast from the past. Like when he gets out and begins his self-deprecating commentary in Hindi, radio-style: "Ji haan, Sehwag ko pata hi nahin chala ki ball?."
His recent stint with Delhi threw light on another facet of his personality.
Now India's vice-captain, he made each player, even the awestruck youngsters around, comfortable, by insisting everyone air their views. This was a rare refreshing insight into the mind of a man who himself spoke very little during team meetings in his early days.
But then, that's Sehwag for you. Unpredictable, unusual and very special.
