MS Dhoni's guidance key to India's 2019 World Cup dreams: Virender Sehwag

SINGAPORE: Former India opener Virender Sehwag feels that the men-in-blue can lift the 50-over World Cup title in England and Wales next year if the youngsters train under the guidance of the seasoned Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was instrumental in getting the cup home in 2011.

"As a youngster, I played my first World Cup 2003 with Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble and they were helping me out," Sehwag said during a panel discussion at the Global Indian International School (GIIS) here on Sunday.

"These youngsters have a very good senior player like Dhoni who can teach and guide them on how to prepare themselves for the 2019 World Cup," the flamboyant opener added.

Sharing his experience of being a part of the 2011 World Cup winning squad, the explosive right-hander said: "Two years before the event, we had a team meeting where we decided that we will treat every game at the 2011 World Cup as a knock out game. If we lose, we are out of the World Cup. We won all the matches in the run up to the finals and that's how we prepared ourselves."

Sehwag also spoke on a variety of topics at the panel discussion including the significance of data analytics in sports and the need to encourage young talent through scholarships.

Earlier, in a 30-minute speech, he had shared his life experiences with the audience comprising students, teachers, parents and employees of GIIS.

GIIS co-founder and executive chairman Atul Temurnikar was also present on the occasion.