File photo of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar (front).© AFP
Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag turned 45 on Friday. Wishes started pouring in from all corners for the ex-India opener and among the most special ones was the wish from his former batting partner and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. He wished Sehwag to have a boring birthday. Tendulkar expressed the rationale behind it by saying that Sehwag does exactly opposite to what he asks him to do. “When I once told him to go slow and stay on the crease, he said, ‘ok’ and then smashed the very next ball for four. Happy birthday to the man who likes to do exactly the opposite of what I say. So, I am going to say, please have a boring birthday, Viru,” wrote Tendulkar on X, formerly Twitter.
When I once told him to go slow and stay on the crease, he said, “ok” and then smashed the very next ball for four. Happy birthday to the man who likes to do exactly the opposite of what I say.
So, I am going to say, please have a boring birthday, Viru. pic.twitter.com/i45fSXvvtV— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 20, 2023
Sehwag amassed a total of 8,586 runs from 104 Tests he played at an average of 49.34 besides also scoring 8,273 runs from 251 ODIs. The former opener also appeared in 19 T20Is for India, accumulating 394 runs.
Sehwag built an incredible career out of persistent pursuit of boundaries and a flair for smashing them. With minimum footwork but tremendous determination, he piled Test runs at a faster pace than anyone in the history of cricket. Bowlers were confident in their chances against a batter who played so many strokes; it’s simply that Sehwag was far more confident in his chances against them.
At his peak, the ‘Nawab of Najfgarh’ was a threatening presence with his strong cuts and cracking drives. With his zeal and ferocious approach to scoring runs quickly, he developed an unbelievable career.
The cricketer went on to amass over 16,000 runs for India across all formats, cementing his place in Indian cricket’s pantheon.
(With ANI Inputs)
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