A remarkable career has come to an end. Virender Sehwag was one of a kind as he evolved into a quintessential attacking cricketer who not only brought to the game a swashbuckling approach but also revolutionised it. His unique, devil-may-care instinct in the otherwise serious existence of a professional batsman mocked at the conservative principles that governed cricket. His was essentially a simple philosophy — the cricket ball is there to be hit, and if you see the ball, you hit the ball.
By succeeding as much in Test cricket as in ODIs. Sehwag defined the very era he played in although, curiously, he found T20 cricket too much of a dash. That he did not succeed in T20 internationals represents a conundrum that he can never explain. Nevertheless, he believed in action much to the entertainment of present-day aficionados.
In making two triple hundreds in Tests while narrowly missing a third in the course of just the opening day of a five-day match, Sehwag’s batting was testament to how successful attacking batsmanship could be. He was fortunate in being part of a new band of mentally strong Indian cricketers who saw merit in the risk-to-returns ratio.
He contributed substantially to Team India hitting the top rung of Test cricket in 2009 while also winning the inaugural T20 world championship in 2007 as well as the showpiece World Cup in 2011. Most of all, he represented marvellous entertainment, which is what cricket, and sport, should be all about.
