What a comeback!
M. S. Unnikrishnan

Virender Sehwag owes an enormous debt to Anil Kumble for helping him make a grand comeback. It was due to the Indian Test captain’s insistence that the Delhi dasher got a call for the Australian tour, despite not being among the players initially shortlisted. The world had collapsed around Sehwag when he was banished from both the Test and ODI squads after India’s debacle in the World Cup in the Caribbean.

Sehwag, who once served as the vice-captain and was deemed as captaincy material, suddenly found himself in the doghouse. The year-long banishment from the Indian team helped Sehwag focus on his career. "When I was dropped from the Test squad, I felt hurt because I had a good record in Tests. I was looking to prove something to myself that I am a good Test player and deserve a place in the team. It was, however, good for me because I was able to motivate myself and concentrate better," says Sehwag.

When he was losing all hope of salvaging his once promising international cricket career, and his foray into domestic cricket for Delhi during his hibernation was also not fetching the desired results, new Indian Test captain Anil Kumble came as a godsend to speak up for him. The "butcher from Najafgarh", who has defied the dynamics of batting to become a terror for bowlers around the world, did not belie the confidence reposed in him by Kumble when he blasted a masterly knock of 151 in the second Test at Adelaide, which helped India save the Test.

His run-a-ball triple century of 319 against South Africa in the first Test in Chennai was a carryover of that blistering batting form he had displayed in Adelaide. And it was a knock, which was also intended to silence his detractors who had gone all out to derail his cricket career by questioning his form, fitness and commitment. His focused batting in the searing, energy-sapping heat of Chennai, lasting over seven hours, was a classic effort. No surprise then that Sehwag rated his second triple century better than his first one in Multan (Pakistan, 2004). "I think this is better than Multan because I was scoring at run a ball, session by session," he said after his marathon knock.

Sehwag’s second treble ton also set a slew of records as on way to his landmark innings, he overtook VVS Laxman’s 281 not out hit against Australia at Eden Gardens, which was till then the highest score by an Indian batsman at home. When he reached 257, Sehwag also became the first batsman since Denis Compton in 1954 to hit over 250 runs in a day. His natural instinct to score off every ball, at a fast clip, stood him in good stead in Chennai, though such batting pyrotechniques have put him in the "high-risk zone" often. Sehwag has excelled on all kinds of surfaces — pacy, swinging and spinning pitches — to prove his credentials, over and over again.

"My batting theory is simple. If there is a ball to be hit, I will hit it," he observed. Sehwag’s batting also earned him praise from all quarters. The man who was most delighted by Sehwag’s magnificent knock was Kumble. "A very special batting effort," Kumble noted. Former skipper Rahul Dravid said, "It was phenomenal, simply exceptional batting". Even South African skipper Graeme Smith did not hide his admiration for Sehwag’s marathon batting. "Sehwag’s innings was the best I have seen," wrote Smith in his column.

If Sehwag is smashing the bowling asunder as an opener to accumulate runs by the tons, credit must also be given to former captain Sourav Ganguly. The Prince of Kolkata was the first to realise Sehwag’s explosive batting potential in the opening slot, and promoted him to open during the tour of England in 2000, from his comfortable perch in the middle order. Viru met the challenge head on, smashed 84 at Lords in his debut as an opener, and hit his first hundred at the top position in the next Test at Nottingham. The rest, as they say, is history.

And his appointment as the captain of the Delhi Daredevils, in the Indian Premier League T20 Championship, is the icing on the cake. Sehwag is now having his cake, and eating it too, though he needs to sort out some grey areas in the ODI department. But the daredevil bat is determined to make his mark in ODI cricket too.