Former India opener Virender Sehwag has credited Anil Kumble for reviving his Test career. Sehwag, who was dropped from the India Test team in early 2007 went almost a year without playing another Test match, before finally earning a recall during Kumble's tenure as captain in late 2007. After not playing Test cricket for 11 months, Sehwag was included in India's squad for the tour of Australia, where he played his first Test match in a year during the third game at Perth. However, getting a place back into the Playing XI wasn't that easy. Kumble had assigned a task for Sehwag, and his way back into the team was going to be determined on how he fared in it.
"Score a 50 in this match, and you will be picked for the match in Perth," Sehwag remembers Kumble's words during Sports18's show 'Home of Heroes'.
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Sehwag scored a hundred before lunch in the match against ACT Invitation XI. As promised, Sehwag played in Perth, gave a good start at the top in both innings scoring 29 and 43 and took two wickets. However, it was during the next match in Adelaide when Sehwag announced his arrival. He scored a 63 in the first innings and followed it with a patient, match-saving 151 in the second, allowing India to draw the Test.
"Those 60 runs were the toughest I scored in my life. I was playing to repay the faith Anil Bhai put in me. I did not want anyone to question him for bringing me to Australia. I was focused on the striker’s end; on the other end, I spoke to the umpire, humming my favourite songs. The pressure was gone," added Sehwag.
{{/usCountry}}"Those 60 runs were the toughest I scored in my life. I was playing to repay the faith Anil Bhai put in me. I did not want anyone to question him for bringing me to Australia. I was focused on the striker’s end; on the other end, I spoke to the umpire, humming my favourite songs. The pressure was gone," added Sehwag.
{{/usCountry}}Sehwag played seven Tests under Kumble averaging over 62 after the Australia tour. Kumble's leadership brought out the best of Sehwag which included a career-best 319 against South Africa and 201 not out against Sri Lanka. In fact, Sehwag even claimed his best bowling figures in a Test of 5/104 in Kumble's last Test."
As long as I am the Test team captain, you will not be dropped from the side," Sehwag remembers Kumble telling him. "That's what a player yearns for the most, the confidence of his captain. I got that from Ganguly in my initial years and from Kumble later."