Virender Sehwag:The New Run Machine of Indian cricket

Ever since the famed Indian middle order started showing signs of ageing and wear and tear, Indian cricket team required for some one to take up the responsibility of not only shielding them but also to slap the opponents’ bowling attack right from the word Go .It is really fortunate that Indian cricket could unearth a cricketer of the caliber of Virender Sehwag, who can not only make the best bowlers look ordinary but also blunt the attack for long duration and at a blistering pace.
Initial years: In the beginning, it appeared as if Virender Sehwag’s breezy style of batting would not be able to sustain against quality bowling attacks. When he made his debut in the one-day internationals in 1998 in the Hero Honda Cup in India against a new look Pakistan and an up coming Bangladesh, memories of failures of aggressive and hard hitting stroke players like Atul Bedade and Amay Khurasia were fresh. Fortunately for the team, unlike those two players, Sehwag was very young and had a powerful state cricket association to back his talent. His gait resembled little master, Sachin Tendulkar. He had a range of strokes similar to his illustrious opening partner like cover drive, straight drive and flick of the wrists. After grinding teams like Sri Lanka and England at home from 1999 to 2001 in one day internationals, he made his debut against South Africa in 2002.With a century on debut, it turned out to be wonderful debut although he was unfairly suspended for one match for excessive appealing. Very soon, it became clear that he was not a “rag picker” type of player, but a batsman to watch and fear for the opponents. Purists decried his batting technique because of absence of feat movement at the time of stroking the ball, whereas the connoisseurs heaped praise on his bat speed and incredible hand and eye co-ordination.
Boy turns into a man: After a reasonably successful world cup in 2003 in South Africa and graduating from one day cricket to test cricket, all eyes were on him when India toured Pakistan in an ice-breaking tour in 2004.In the Multan test, he slammed a triple century (309) and above all showed his selflessness with a six from 294 to 300.He could have easily surpassed Lara’s record of 400 on that day but for the fatigue and team’s cause of quick run making. As of now it appears that, he is the most potent threat to Lara’s world record and may be even to Sachin’s record of maximum centuries. He repeated the act of scoring a triple century again in 2007 and scored another big hundred (254) in Faisalabad. His 15 test centuries so far are an ample proof of his maturity into a fine test batsman from a swashbuckling, reckless and frenzied style of batting of the young blood of initial years.
101s of his career so far: His greatest asset is that he does not actually need a partner to take the team to safety and scores runs almost like a one man army, as his latest unbeaten double century against the marauding Lankan spinners proved. His strength is also his Weakness. Any slight and momentary dip in his prowess of hand and eye co-ordination due to various reasons, has proved to be fatal on occasions and teams need not have to plan for plotting against his weaknesses and this is the main reason for his going into wilderness for a brief while in 2006-07.Fortunately for him the twenty-twenty world cup and Australian test series in 2007 resurrected his career, although it appeared that, he started to increasingly like the open spaces in the field in test matches than the crowded field placing during the power play phases of one day cricket. For a bowler of his caliber, he is either being under- bowled or shielded from fatigue by his captains. He is an excellent close-in fielder and has a sharp throwing arm.
Possibilities in future: After the arrival of Matthew Hayden into the Australian team and his huge success, all the major teams have started to groom run machines like him. So the future definitely belongs to run machines like Kevin Pietersen of England, Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka and Virender Sehwag of India. He is a serious competitor to M.S.Dhoni for the captaincy. If he does not slow down as his age progresses and continues with carefree approach at the crease, it will be a delight to watch for the spectators and a scourge for the bowlers. It will be an interesting sight to watch his battles in future against up coming stars like Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka, Stuart Broad of England, Mitchell Johnson of Australia, Umar Gul of Pakistan and Daniel Vettori of New Zealand and he is most likely to succeed. Experts will study at close quarters his strengths like bat speed and try to find out how he acquired that incredible hand and eye co-ordination just as Murlidharan’s Doosra was researched and discovered to be due to his unusual double wrist. Until such time, viewers will enjoy the unique combination of oriental charm and elegance and brute force of Sehwag’s bat. So let all the cricket lovers hail the arrival of the new run machine of Indian cricket and wish for the continued brilliance in future.