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Viru, the destroyer, has a big heart
Sehwag’s promotion as captain might be temporary, but it reiterates the fact that he is a major player and a top star. Fans love him, bowlers fear him - Sehwag stands for all that is exciting about batting. Amrit Mathur comments.
Sehwag’s promotion as captain might be temporary, but it reiterates the fact that he is a major player and a top star. Fans love him, bowlers fear him - Sehwag stands for all that is exciting about batting.
Some see him as the true successor of Viv Richards, the most destructive batsman of the past fifty years.
Their batting is marked by extreme brutality, but while Richards’ was strikingly arrogant-he made it a point to let the bowler know who called the shots — Sehwag is less abrasive.
He too smashes the bowler, yet is capable of compassion. For him, it’s a simple matter of doing the job of a batsman, which is to put bat to the ball to put runs on the board.
Sehwag has heaps of self-confidence, but, at the same time, there’s a disarming modesty about him, which comes through whenever there is a suggestion, or even a hint, of being compared to Tendulkar.
He has always been quick to shoot down the idea with his ‘I have a long way to go’ remarks, suggesting Tendulkar is way ahead.
Such devotion to Sachin is nothing new. He has always held him in high esteem, preferring to call him the god of cricket.
But if Tendulkar is a superhuman, Sehwag, too, is a special talent with splendid gifts. Sehwag, like Sachin, is a star, a matchless entertainer. He dictates the pace of play, sets the agenda according to his mood, and is not shackled by the merit of the ball.
Sehwag’s most arresting quality is his ability to impact the outcome of the game.
He has won more matches for the team than anyone else with the exception of former skipper Anil Kumble.
He can overcome conditions, state of the game and the nature of the pitch to impose his brilliance on the proceedings.
Sehwag has demonstrated indifference, even disdain, for milestones. He revels in the present, has little time for the past or the future.
