Virender Sehwag’s footwork is often faulted, but Rashid Latif says his technique was ahead of its time. (Express Archive)
Saying Virender Sehwag would have had even better records in international cricket if he had not “remained under the shadows” of greats such as Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said Sehwag was always feared by opponents because of the impact he could have on a match.
“Sehwag used to play to dominate. We are used to openers who were a bit circumspect at the beginning, gauging how the pitch is, who the bowler is whether Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Wasim Akram or Shoaib Akhtar. But Sehwag was someone who feared no one. He was an impactful player, had a great influence in his team,” Latif said on a Youtube show called Caught Behind.
“He is someone who has always remained under the shadows of other players. He played with Sachin, played with Rahul and remained under their shadow. If he was playing for any other country then he would’ve easily crossed 10 thousand runs. Maybe his team had bigger names, bigger players but opponents were always wary of the impact that Sehwag could have on a game,” Latif added.
Latif also said it is often said that Sehwag’s footwork was limited but it is wrong to say this because his batting technique was such that he could maintain perfect balance while playing his strokes because of his footwork. He added that coaches now advocate minimum feet movement to keep balance.
READ | The Sehwag Way
He said, “It’s wrong to say Sehwag’s feet didn’t move. He had a unique technique with a very strong base. Was superb on the back foot, used to cut, pull, hook with ease. He had beautiful balance. People say that he had limited feet movement but that was perhaps the reason why he was so successful. And coaches nowadays have started to say that keep your balance with minimum foot movement,” Latif said.