IS VIRENDER Sehwag really getting his due? Isn’t he the most destructive batsman to walk the playing field since Vivian Richards?
Viru as he is popularly known has the record to back up his claims. But more than that it is the X factor in his batting which makes him so dangerous. There is very little movement of feet, but the bulwark of his batting prowess is his amazing hand eye coordination and of course his stillness at the crease. Even as he throws his hands at a ball outside the off stump or whacks a perfectly good ball through the on side, it is this quality of a still head and a eagle’s eye which marks him out as a special player.
Richards instilled fear in the opposing bowling camp because of his peerless arrogance while striding to the wicket. His imperious strokeplay did the rest. And Richards played like that right throughout his career. Viru has displayed the same trait over his career. Footloose and fancyfree, he fears no bowler and by batting at the top, he drives home the advantage by giving you a great start. Viru is not known to dawdle at the crease, he is a punisher. Tough and unrelenting, he knows how to play the game only his way – belt the ball and send it to the pickets as quickly as it comes to him. This way he often wades into the opposition and changes the complexion of the game. Take his most recent innings at the Eden against South Africa.
By attacking from the word go, he is decisive and gets the upper hand. Viru is a counter puncher who as a rule punches above his weight. Reputations don’t bother him, the best attacks have been put to sword by him. He may lack consistency, but that is the way he plays the game. When paens of praise are heaped on the Fab Four – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Saurav Ganguly, one tends to forget Viru’s contribution. A major part of his career has overlapped with these four batters and he is not really given his due. Viru’s natural inclination is to attack and as he has proved over many years, while form may be fickle, his class is permanent.
When he arrived on the international scene, he was seen as a Tendulkar clone, but his primal talent has taken him to the next level of competence. At Kolkata, he scored his 19th Test hundred in his 76th Test, a better conversion rate than both Ganguly and Laxman. Over the last eight years, Viru has played many audacious innings in Test and one day cricket and bowlers are still to figure him out. Once a weakness or chink is spotted, word travels quickly in locker rooms around the world. Nobody has been able to get a fix on Viru’s gumption and stroke making ability. The sheer bat speed that he generates makes him one of the most violent cricketers in the world.
In his debut Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein in 2001-02, Viru gave glimpses of his immense talent when he stitched up a 210-run partnership in tandem with Sachin Tendulkar after India was floundering at 68 for 4. Many thought that the master and pupil were batting together. There are many shots that Viru plays like Tendulkar, none better than than the flick to the onside. But Viru is brutal, a destroyer of bowling. What makes him remarkable is that he doesn’t take his foot off the pedal and can play big innings’ regularly.
Laxman, who is an incomparable artist, has 15 Test hundreds in 110 Tests, while Ganguly hit 16 hundreds in 113 Tests. Ganguly scored 7212 runs while Laxman has amassed 7136 runs in Test cricket. Against this Viru has scored 6689 runs in 76 Tests till the completion of the first essay in the ongoing Kolkata Test. While much is made of Laxman’s virtuousity on the on side, Viru’s steely wrists bring a kinetic force to bear. In fact Dilip Vengsarkar who played 116 Tests, also scored only 17 Tests and a total of 6868 runs. Only Mohd Azharuddin has done better than Viru in terms of scoring centuries. He played 99 Tests, scored 22 hundreds but totalled only 6215 runs. Barring Rahul Dravid (29), Sachin Tendulkar (47), Sunil Gavaskar (34) and Mohd Azharuddin (22), Viru is now the highest scorer of centuries for India.
Viru’s forte is the pace at which he scores and the uncanny ability with which he demoralises the opposition. This allows India to dictate terms in Test and one day games. Sometimes the demolition derby on view is simply breath taking for it leaves the opposing side gasping. Viru’s journey thus far has been littered with poor form, being dropped from the side and injuries; despite which he has scored runs at a very fast clip. If Viru plays another 25 Tests, which I am sure he will, then one can safely assume that he would have scored close to 9000 Test runs and about 24 hundreds. That is an awesome record to have. Viru, according to me, would definitely be one of the most influential batsmen that India has ever produced.
I know, I know that I am saying this knowing fully well that India has produced Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly in recent times and Gavaskar, Vishwanath, Vengsarkar, Azharuddin in the past. But none have played like Viru. He is the demolition man for India. He is influential for he alters the course of games with his decisive style of batsmanship. A mixture of daredevilry, derring do and bravado. As I said initially, he has the X factor, a testosterone backed blazing rapier like bat which punishes. Unfazed and oblivious of the havoc that he causes, Viru backs himself to belt the ball. There are times that he looks ungainly, but that doesn’t matter. Throw in another 12 hundreds and 7036 runs in 219 one dayers and Viru is a ferocious batsman. At the same time, what is interesting is that Viru is an under achiever in one day cricket and a super achiever in Test cricket, borne out by his stats. Two triple centuries, a 293 and as many as 11 other scores of 150 plus in his 19 centuries is a testimony to his destructive ability.
My sense is that Viru will flower more once he moves out of the shadow of the banyan trees in the Indian side – Sachin, Dravid, Laxman. Undoubtedly, he will emerge to become the Indian batting mainstay after they retire. The next generation of Indian batters led by Gautam Gambhir will revolve around the fulcrum called Viru. Viru’s penchant for big scores makes him an even more dreaded opponent. Viru has six double centuries and that tells you that he has an insatiable appetite. Viru now stands on the cusp of true greatness. All he has to do is play in the same aggressive mien and the runs will keep coming.
