With Sachin Tendulkar missing from the India team, the spotlight is on Virender Sehwag. Suddenly, truth has dawned that he is not a good but a great player. Sehwag is in a class of his own and on current form is a 100m sprinter who is five yards ahead of the others.
Statisticians
discovered that Sehwag was the fastest to reach 7000 Test runs, apart from Wally Hammond, and he scores 60% of his runs from boundaries. His Test strike rate is 81 and for someone so aggressive, has more double hundreds than technical wizards like Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid.
So, the inevitable question: where does Sehwag sit in the list of superstars? Kapil Dev, a worthy member of cricket's elite, thinks Sehwag is an extra-special talent.
"I did not see (Sir Don) Bradman and thought nobody could match (Sir) Viv Richards, but Sehwag has gone beyond that or anyone else," he says. "Earlier, my all-time great openers were Sunil Gavaskar and Gordon Greenidge. Now, my vote is for Sunny and Sehwag." As Sehwag is fearless, Kapil thinks bowlers are scared of him - instead of getting him out, they look to escape punishment.
Sehwag's batting is based on daredevilry and scientists are yet to detect a tissue of self-doubt in his DNA. For a batsman known to reject foot movement, he is forever on the front foot.
Sehwag's cricket is dominant and positive but without arrogance - he hits a stunning boundary and quietly marks his crease again instead of staring the bowler down.
We admire his audacious cuts and offside shots but often overlook that he respects the fundamentals of batting like any other great player. His batting grammar is correct, his assault directed against the opposition, not the MCC coaching manual. Sehwag plays through the line, not across it.
Gautam Gambhir, another confessed fan, feels Sehwag's success is a result of balance, incredible timing and a policy of playing to his strengths. Contrary to popular perception about being an instinctive, naturally-gifted genius, Sehwag is a crusty professional who sits down with mental conditioning experts, consults videos of bowlers and his sharp mind separates the essential from the peripheral.
I once asked him about the goals he sets himself. The reply was simple: Make runs as quickly as possible and yes, play one-dayers as if they are Test matches!