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Najafgarh is a small township outside south western New Delhi and is home to rural and urban grain traders. Houses are clustered and the streets are narrow. It is said children there cannot hit a cricket shot with a horizontal bat as the bat would crash into a neighbor’s wall. One wonders then, how Virender Sehwag dispatched bowlers with ease using a horizontal bat especially since he grew up in that town.
After breaking records across the book as the most aggressive and entertaining Indian opener, Sehwag has finally called it quits from international cricket in his characteristic style. His disdain was apparent in his retirement note which came without any fanfare. He did things his own way just like any blue-blooded Nawab would.
Family Business
Sehwag was born into a family grain merchants on October 20, 1978, the third of four children. His father gifted him a bat when he was seven months old and the young boy was hooked. It was his mother who actually helped him pursue his passion when he was old enough to hold a bat on his own. His father did not want his son to obsesses about the game and burn his future. A flourmill and grain trading beckoned, and the elder Sehwag wanted his son to study hard.
During his childhood, Sehwag was dreaded by his neighbours. There is hardly any glass window or any doors in the neighbourhood that have been left unscathed by Sehwag’s willow play. It reached such a stage that Sehwag was held guilty for every broken glass pane in the vicinity. Finally resigned to the fact that Virender would pursue cricket, his father allowed him to play.
Cricket Debut
Sehwag made his debut for New Delhi in 1997, with an instant impact on the team. He was selected to the North Zone cricket team for the Duleep Trophy the following 1998–99 season, ending fifth in the total run scoring list. Accolades and trophies followed Sehwag on the domestic circuit and he piled on the runs till the selectors for the national team could ignore him no longer.
He broke into the Indian national team in 1999 but had a bad outing against Pakistan which ensured he wouldn’t come back for another 20 months. It was in 2001 in Sri Lanka where he made his presence felt in the final against New Zealand. The hungry Sehwag blasted his maiden century off just 69 balls and his performance earned him the man of the match and a permanent spot in the ODI team.
Critics voiced their concerns about his non-existent footwork and the fact that he had a tendency to fail. Sehwag answered his detractors with some ferocious hitting piling up runs in the ODI and Test arena.
Strong Showing
He made his Test debut in 2001 against South Africa with a maiden Test century and his strong showing against different opponents didn’t go unnoticed. By the time he reached Australia, Sehwag had established himself in the Test team.
In the same Australian Test series, he made a thrilling 195 and got out while attempting a six to reach his maiden double century. When a journalist asked why he played that shot because he was just six runs away, pat came Sehwag’s reply, “I was actually just 3 yards away!”
Sehwag’s friends have always maintained that he’s a simple man. Fame and adulation have never gone to his head. His coach noted that even after Sehwag became the first Indian triple centurion, he would often come to the government school nets and offload his used kits to be distributed among deserving players.
Destructive Opener
Sehwag continued to plunder teams across the globe with his explosive batting. He was a treat to watch and rarely if ever disappointed his fans. One knew that on his day, he would take the game away no matter the format or opposition. His twin triple centuries, double hundreds and multiple centuries based on power and hand-eye coordination ensured that he became the most destructive Indian opener in the history of the game. Sachin Tendulkar once famously remarked that he had the best seat in the house and he enjoyed Sehwag play in full form. India finally had a King on the top of the batting order.
Much has been written about his run scoring ability and inability. When his reflexes grew weak over time, he was on the fringes of the team by 2007, shoved aside by younger players who paved their way. His comebacks into the team were short-lived and experts told him to change the way he played and slow down. Try telling that to a charging train and you know that such advice is not going to work.
He Did It His Way
Sehwag showed India that you don’t need to be technically correct. You just needed to have the heart to pursue your passion and put in the hard work. Detractors would be taken care of like a well hit cricket ball on the way to the boundary rope. He was and will remain the most aggressive Indian opening batsman for a long time and he did it all his way. The record books are a testament to his greatness. He obsessed about the game, played it hard and stamped it with his inimitable style. His birthplace, the township of Najafgarh will forever be on the map because of him — the true Nawab of Najafgarh.
The post The True Nawab of Najafgarh – Virender Sehwag appeared first on News India Times.