‘Had you been in Pakistan…': Ex-PAK pacer recalls sledging Sehwag to get him out, names India great as ‘easiest’ wicket

Despite the strong performances, a former Pakistan pacer has interestingly claimed Sehwag was the easiest target for him.

Team India has always been gifted with supreme talents when it comes to batting. Some of the biggest names, who have dictated the show with the bat, are Indians, and standing right on top of it is none other than batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar.

Former India opener Virender Sehwag (Hindustan Times)

While the legacy of Tendulkar still remains untouched, his colleagues too share a similar reputation. One big name, who enjoys massive popularity among them is his former opening partner Virender Sehwag. The right-handed batter was regarded as a fearless custodian, and his audacious upper cuts were sights to be marveled on.

Sehwag's flamboyance with the bat was such that many oppositions dreaded if he remained long enough in the crease, mainly because of his ultra aggressive approach. Known for finding the gaps on both sides of the wicket, Sehwag was a threat in any format of the game, although he featured in only 19 T20Is. But he made over 100 and 250 appearances in Tests and ODIs respectively, accumulating over 8000 runs in both the formats.

In fact in Tests, Sehwag has two triple centuries under his name, a feat which only Karun Nair has achieved for India after him.

Despite the strong performances, former Pakistan pacer Naved-ul-Hasan named Sehwag as the easiest target. The former pacer made the stunning claim on Nadir Ali podcast, where he also named current India coach Rahul Dravid as the most difficult batter to bowl at.

"Sehwag was the easiest to dismiss and the most difficult to bowl at was Rahul Dravid," said Naved-ul-Hasan.

The former pacer also recalled an incident from Pakistan's tour of India back in 2004/05, when he used sledging to distract a set Sehwag inching towards his 90s.

“There was a match where Sehwag was playing on 85. Sehwag was smashing every bowler from our team and they (India) were close to 300. I asked Inzy bhai (then Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq) to give me the ball. I bowled a slow bouncer, went up to him and said ‘you don’t know how to play. Had you been in Pakistan, I don’t think you would have ever made it to the national team,” the former pacer said.

“Sehwag said something in return and on my way back I told Inzy bhai ‘next ball he'll be out’. He was surprised. I bowled a back-of-the-hand slower ball, and an agitated Sehwag tried to smash it over the ropes but got out in the process. The wicket was so important that we won that match. These are certain tricks of the fast bowler,” he added.