Virender Sehwag at HT-Mint Asia Leadership Summit 2019: Be you, celebrate and enjoy the game
HT-Mint Asia Leadership Summit 2019: Attributing his success to his school coach AK Sharma, he said that his coach would tie his right leg to the net and allowed to do batting from one place.
cricket Updated: Sep 06, 2019 19:11 IST
‘Tok’!!! The sound of the ball hitting the middle of the bat is what gives me the energy, enthusiasm and excitement of cricket, yearned Virender Sehwag, former opening Batsman of India, at the HT-MintAsia Leadership Summit 2019, held in Singapore, on Monday.
Talking on the sidelines, the cricketer mentioned, “More than technique and method, I concentrated on the ball and hitting, which has gained me name and fame. When other cricketers were watching their game to learn from their mistakes, I was the one to watch only my 4s and 6s and enjoy my game.”
Also Read: I can look like Sachin, play like him, but cannot perform like him: Sehwag
“I use to chase 50 runs in 5-overs in my schooldays with tennis balls, which is why I was not scared when such situations arise in the International games,” Sehwag recalled his childhood cricket days.
Attributing his success to his school coach AK Sharma, he said that his coach would tie his right leg to the net and allowed to do batting from one place, and added, “Here is when I began to receive the ball under my eyes and hit it.” He also recalled the stories of how he shifted schools to learn cricket and how he got to become an opener.
The then Indian Captain of the game Sourav Ganguly tried many players as openers. “When he approached me to play as the opening batsman, I played my best to everybody’s surprise, introducing a different approach to batting ignoring the critics, who tried to knock me down. He went on with how he hit a six to reach 100 runs and 300 runs.
Noting that I started watching cricket for Sachin Tendulkar and was imitated in his game in schooldays, Sehwag noted, “I can look like Sachin, play like him, but cannot perform like him. I changed my style of game once I realised this.”
Also Read: Sehwag reveals hilarious mid-pitch conversation with Ganguly
Asked his memorable moment, “My first 100 in my debut test match is the moment I cherish. This is the moment I proved myself and kept scoring more and more beating the stamp on me as ‘One-day cricketer’, said Sehwag, who is regarded as the most destructive batsman of all time.
“Keeping hitting 4s and 6s, people will like you,” has been his thumbrule.
When asked for his favourite cricketer, “I like Virat, because he knows how to score runs,” Sehwag puts it sharp.
First Published: Sep 06, 2019 19:11 IST