virender sehwag – Artifex.News

Not MS Dhoni, This Ex-India Star Was First-Choice Captain For CSK In IPL 2008

admin — Sun, 19 May 2024 03:26:21 +0000

File photo of MS Dhoni.© BCCI

MS Dhoni is one of the greats of the Indian Premier League. Whenever the name of Dhoni is taken in the tournament, the franchise Chennai Super Kings also comes along with it quite often than not. This is because Dhoni has played for the side since the inception of the league in 2008. He has featured for CSK throughout IPL, barring the two seasons in 2016 and 2017 when the side was banned. During his long stint with the team, Dhoni also led the side to record-equalling five IPL titles. Be it from the CSK franchise or its fans, the player has earned immense love and respect.

However, former India opener Virender Sehwag has made an intriguing revelation. While speaking to Fever FM, he said that Dhoni was not the first-choice captain for the franchise. According to Sehwag, VB Chandrashekhar, who was man-in-charge to buy players for CSK ahead of the inaugural IPL season, had approached him.

“VB Chandrashekhar was selecting the players for CSK. He phone-called me and said, ‘We want you to play for CSK. Delhi Daredevils want you to be their icon. Don’t accept the offer’. I was like, fine, we will see,” said Sehwag.

“Finally, I received the offer from Delhi Daredevils to be their icon player and I accepted it. I didn’t go into the auction. If I were a part of the auction, CSK would’ve bought me and made me the captain of the side. But then, they bought MS Dhoni and made him the captain,” Sehwag said.

Sehwag joined Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and played six seasons for the side before moving to Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) ahead of IPL 2024. He played two editions of the new side and then hanged up his boots.

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“Earning A 400-Crore Profit…”: Virender Sehwag’s Unfiltered Take On KL Rahul-Sanjiv Goenka Saga

admin — Mon, 13 May 2024 06:30:02 +0000

Lucknow Super Giants found themselves in the headlines during IPL 2024 following owner Sanjiv Goenka’s fiery chat with skipper KL Rahul after their huge loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad. LSG were completely outplayed by SRH as openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head chased down a 166-run target in just 9.4 overs. Goenka was not happy with his team’s performance and his animated conversation with Rahul and head coach Justin Langer soon became a topic of discussion among fans and experts. Former India batter Virender Sehwag weighed in on the incident and said that team owners should refrain from getting angry with players or backroom staff who work on the pitch.

“The owner’s role should be that when they meet the players in the dressing room or during a press meet, they should only talk to motivate them. But if the owner comes and asks – ‘What is going on? What’s the problem?’ or gets hold of one of the team management members and starts to raise questions about a particular player…see the coaches and the captain run the team, so it is better for these owners not to get involved with players or get angry with me,” he said on Cricbuzz.

Sehwag, who was the mentor for Punjab Kings from 2016 to 2018, was not pleased with how Goenka behaved and he also said that he will be earning a profit irrespective of what happens.

“These are all businessmen. They only understand profit and loss. But here, there is no loss, so what’s bothering them? You are earning a 400-crore profit. I mean, this is a business where you have to do nothing at all. You have guys to take care of that, and irrespective of what happens, you are earning profit. So your work should only be to motivate the players. What happens is that the player will think that there are other franchises in the IPL, if I leave, someone else will take me. And if you lose a player, your chances of winning are zero. When I left Punjab, they were fifth. They never came fifth in any other seasons,” he said.

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“You Could Be Rohit Sharma Or Suryakumar Yadav, At Least Respect…”: Virender Sehwag Slams Mumbai Indians Duo

admin — Sun, 12 May 2024 10:18:01 +0000

Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav flopped against KKR© BCCI/Sportzpics

Former India opener Virender Sehwag slammed Mumbai Indians’ (MI) batting duo Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav for taking too long to get set and then giving their wicket away without making any significant contribution in the IPL 2024 match against Kolkata Knight Riders. In a rain affected encounter which was reduced to a 16 over game between the two historical powerhouses of the IPL on Saturday, Rohit scored 19 off 24 while managed to record 11 off 14 after MI started their chase of 158 strongly with Ishan Kishan giving the side a good start with his 40 off 22 balls.

“Whoever bowls good, just play him out. If two wickets hadn’t fallen, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav could’ve finished the match an over before. Vaibhav Arora, Mitchell Starc, Andre Russell and Harshit Rana had to ball anyway; if they played out the spinners and didn’t lose the wickets, they would’ve won the game. You can’t have an ego when you come out to bat. You play them out or punish the loose deliveries,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

Two early wickets in the first innings saw the KKR struggle early in the game. The Mumbai bowling attack faltered as the game went on with Venkatesh Iyer being the main man with the bat. Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh & Ramandeep Singh all provided small yet explosive contributions to take Kolkata’s score to 157/7.

In response, Tilak Varma’s 32 runs off 17 balls went in vain as there were no real contributions by the middle order with Hardik Pandya, Tim David and Nehal Wadhera all combining for five runs. Naman Dhir’s 17 runs off 6 balls gave the fans a glimmer of hope but it was not enough as MI only managed to score 139 in the chase.

“Naman Dhir came right at the end and smashed two sixes and a four; if Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav were set at that time, they would’ve hit 5 balls for boundaries. You could be Rohit Sharma or Suryakumar Yadav, but at least respect the delivery if you can’t respect the bowler. The ball on which Rohit Sharma got out wasn’t a weak ball. No doubt Rohit and Suryakumar are great players, but that doesn’t mean you should hit the good deliveries, too,” concluded Sehwag.

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“When Did He Perform?” Virender Sehwag Wants MI To Retain Two Stars. Not Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma

admin — Sun, 12 May 2024 09:02:47 +0000

Five-time champions Mumbai Indians have had one of the worst IPL seasons since the start of the tournament this year. The Hardik Pandya-led side is already out of the playoff race. Since the start, when Hardik Pandya was named the skipper, things have gone downhill for the side. In the midst of this, former Indian cricket team star Virender Sehwag had a piece of interesting advice for MI management ahead of the IPL 2025 mega-auction. He took two names that should be on top priority for MI to be retained. And they are not Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma.

“If you get Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, and Salman Khan for one movie, it doesn’t mean it will be a hit film. You have to perform. There has to be something in the script. Look at these big names…they all have to perform. Rohit scored one hundred and it was in a losing cause. In the remaining matches, when did he perform? Ishan Kishan has not gone beyond the powerplay the entire season. So the only two players who are certain are Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav. If they have a third and a fourth, we’ll see,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

Manoj Tiwary, who was also part of the panel alongside Sehwag, said: “I don’t think Rohit Sharma himself wants to be retained.” To which, the anchor then cheekily said: “I think somebody saw a viral video”.

The discussion then veered towards a video involving Rohit Sharma and KKR’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. In the video, Rohit and Nayar could be heard talking about ‘things changing’. At the end of the video, the former Mumbai Indians skipper also said that “it’s his last”. Though the context of the conversation isn’t known, fans suggested that the two could’ve talked about the current situation at Mumbai Indians, especially Hardik Pandya’s appointment as skipper.

“Ek ek cheez change ho raha hai…Woh unke upar hai…Jo bhi hai woh mera ghar hai bhai, woh temple jo hai na maine banwaya hai(Everything is changing one by one… It’s on them… Whatever, but it’s my home brother, it’s the temple that I constructed).”

The last line that could be heard in the video was: “Bhai mera kya mera to ye last hai (brother, this is my last anyway)”.

The video has been deleted by KKR from its handles but has gone viral.

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“MS Dhoni Entertained, Who Cares If CSK Win Or Lose”: Virender Sehwag’s Remark Stuns Everyone

admin — Sun, 12 May 2024 05:51:44 +0000

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) icon MS Dhoni rolled back the years with another entertaining cameo in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Friday. The former CSK captain hit an unbeaten 26 off just 11 balls, albeit in a losing cause against the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. With CSK chasing 232, Dhoni arrived at no.8 and produced a valiant effort with the bat, but his team lost the match by 35 runs.

While there has been a debate surrounding Dhoni’s batting slot, former India batter Virender Sehwag insisted that the 42-year-old should be batting higher up the order.

While analysing the match, Sehwag said that the debate surrounding his number should end, but suggested that others need to bat like him to achieve big targets.

“We should end the debate around MS Dhoni’s batting position. He knows what he wants to do. It’s his wish. But if you want to win the match, the form he is in, and the strike rate that he’s batting at… the other batters need to play at a similar level. It felt today that Mitchell and Ali couldn’t match Sudharsan and Gill. Someone has to score a 100. Or Jadeja and Dube had to score a 20-ball fifty to get close to the target,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

“I don’t want to get into the debate. Wherever he bats, it’s fine. He played fine, and entertained the public, who cares if they win or lose? He entertained the public, that’s it,” he added.

After the match, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming Dhoni’s fitness and said the team management is very cautious about the former skipper’s fitness and knows what he can give to the team.

“Like just hitting sixes and fours, which he has done pretty well. And keep as well as some of the best in the competition if not the best in the competition. So don’t underestimate his influence on the team just because he comes in at No. 9. There’s a timing aspect, but we’re very wary of what he can give us. And we’ll max that out,” Fleming was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.

He also pointed out that CSK don’t want to put much pressure on Dhoni where they will lose him from injury. The head coach said that the wicketkeeper-batter is “okay”.

“But we don’t want to max that out where we lose him. So it’s a delicate balance, but trust me, his best interest is with us, and his interest [is] in performing well for us is still very high. To put the nation at ease – he’s okay,” he added.

(With ANI Inputs)

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Virender Sehwag Schools ‘Lucky’ Shubman Gill, Triggers Another ‘Strike-Rate Debate’

admin — Mon, 06 May 2024 08:11:11 +0000

Former India batter Virender Sehwag has suggested that Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Shubman Gill is lucky to have his name in the travelling reserves for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the Americas. Gill did not find a place in the 15-man squad, with the selectors preferring another youngster in Yashasvi Jaiswal for the openers slot. Gil, however, is one of the four travelling reserves. Gill, who was the Orange Cap winner last season, has only scored 322 runs in 11 matches during the ongoing season of IPL. Sehwag feels Gill should focus on scoring more runs so that he doesn’t get dropped from the team in the future.

“I think he’s lucky that his name is in the T20 World Cup reserves. KL Rahul and Ruturaj Gaikwad are not even in that. That’s a good point and he should be motivated by that. Next time, he should not let his place go once he gets a chance. He should focus on scoring runs at a good strike-rate so he doesn’t get replaced,” Sehwag said during a discussion on Cricbuzz.

Recalling his playing days, Sehwag recalled how the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman hardly gave the selectors any solid reason to drop them.

“In my days, we had Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman. It doesn’t matter how many runs the other guys scored, these guys didn’t go out because they never stopped scoring runs. How will you drop them if they keep scoring runs? They never gave a reason to get dropped. This is what Shubman Gill has to learn. Once he returns to Indian team and plays regularly post the World Cup, he shouldn’t let such an opportunity arise again. Improve your skills and score big, because big scores will eventually save you,” he added.

Gill is having a torrid season in IPL 2024, with his team also languishing in the bottom half of the points table.

He had taken over captaincy from Hardik Pandya, who returned to Mumbai Indians ahead of the season to fill in the same role.

With back-to-back defeats against RCB, Gill’s GT have slumped to ninth in the points table with eights points from 11 matches.

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“Are Hardik Pandya, Tim David That Bad?”: Virender Sehwag Fumes At MI, Demands Serious Actions

admin — Sat, 04 May 2024 09:08:45 +0000

Former India batter Virender Sehwag questioned Mumbai Indians (MI)’s tactics during the 24-run defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their IPL 2024 match on Friday. Chasing a below-par 170, Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bowled out for 145 off 18.5 overs at the Wankhede Stadium. While analysing the match, Sehwag said he was “baffled” with captain Hardik Pandya and Tim David arriving at No.7 and 8 in the lineup, respectively. Sehwag also posed a similar question for KKR after star all-rounder Andre Russell batted down the order.

“KKR saved Andre Russell; he played only two balls. Mumbai Indians saved Hardik Pandya and Tim David. What did you achieve by doing that? There were many deliveries left, and they all got out. You could’ve come earlier, or maybe you could’ve finished the game earlier, too. I don’t know what happens to them when they chase… Hardik Pandya at seven and Tim David at 8. I just don’t understand what they did. Are these players that bad that they will get out if they come earlier?” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.

Sehwag also slammed Hardik for batting down the order for MI, and pointed out how the all-rounder used to bat in the top order for Gujarat Titans. He added that the MI owners should take serious actions against the players and management.

“Hardik Pandya batted at 4 consistently when he was the GT captain. What has happened here? It baffles me that the experienced players are coming so low.

“I’m baffled by this. Management needs to take severe action on players and ask them what’s happening. Or, players should speak up about why their batting positions are changed. The captain, batting coach, bowling coach, and support staff are at fault here. Owners need to ask strict questions,” he added.

Speaking on the loss, Hardik said after the game that his team failed to form any needed partnerships, and there are a lot of questions that will take time to answer, but he has not much to say at the moment.

“I mean obviously in the batting inning, we couldn’t form partnerships and kept losing wickets, in T20s if you don’t form partnerships, it will cost you. Not much, there are a lot of questions that will take some time to answer but for now, not much to say,” Pandya said in a post-match presentation.

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Virender Sehwag Lambasts R Ashwin, Says He “Won’t Find A Place In My Team”

admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 06:20:40 +0000

Virender Sehwag feels R Ashwin might go unsold in the IPL mega auction next season.© BCCI

Former India batter Virender Sehwag has raised concerns over veteran spin-bowling all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin‘s form in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Ashwin has struggled to pick wickets in IPL 2024, managing just two scalps in eight matches, and has also leaked over nine runs per over. Despite his struggles, Ashwin recently claimed that taking wickets in T20s is irrelevant. Reacting to his remark, Sehwag slammed Ashwin and said that the veteran might go unsold in the auction next season.

“This is the same as when KL Rahul had said that the strike rate doesn’t matter. Same thing. He said it for batting, Ashwin has said it for bowling that it doesn’t matter if you get the wickets. If his stats aren’t good, then he may not even get picked in the auction next year. When you pick a bowler, do you expect him to give away 25-30 runs or do you expect him to give you wickets and become man of the match twice or thrice?” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

Slamming Ashwin for his mindset, Sehwag pointed out how his peers — Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav — have been picking at regular intervals.

“All his competitors – Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav or anyone else – are getting the wickets. He thinks if he bowls off spin then anyone will hit him. Which is why he bowls his carrom bowl, which is why he is not getting any wickets. Maybe if he believes in his off spin or doosra, he can bag more wickets. But that’s his mindset. But if I were a mentor or a coach of a franchise, I wouldn’t think like that. If my bowler is thinking about saving runs and not taking wickets, he won’t find a place in the team,” he added.

Despite Ashwin’s poor form, his franchise RR sit top of the IPL 2024 points table with 16 points from nine matches.

RR need a win in their next game, against SunRisers Hyderabad, to qualify for the playoffs.

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“Sachin Tendulkar Batted At No. 4”: Virender Sehwag’s Sensational T20 World Cup Message For Virat

admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 02:42:33 +0000

Virat Kohli in action for RCB during IPL 2024© AFP

Indian cricket team star batter Virat Kohli has emerged as an unlikely option for opening the innings along with Rohit Sharma amid his fine run of form in IPL 2024. Kohli, who scored another half-century for Royal Challengers Bengaluru during the match against Gujarat Titans on Sunday, is currently the highest run-scorer in the competition and many experts including former India skipper Sourav Ganguly backed him to open the innings in the T20 World Cup 2024. However, legendary India batter Virender Sehwag believes that Virat should continue to bat at No. 3 and even mentioned Sachin Tendulkar‘s decision to demote himself to No. 4 during the 2007 World Cup to make his point.

“If I were in that team, I wouldn’t send him to open. I’ll play him at 3. Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal will open, and Kohli will continue to bat at no.3. The middle-overs approach is his headache, he knows if there’s an early dismissal, he can take care of powerplays. If the wicket falls late, it’s the captain and the coach’s responsibility to tell him to keep the momentum intact. A player has to do this,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

“Sachin Tendulkar also left his opening role to bat at no.4, and carried the momentum in that role. He batted at no.4 in the 2007 World Cup. Even he didn’t like to bat in the middle-order, but he had to do that for the team. If your team has two good openers and you are asked to bat at 3, you have to do that. You have to carry the momentum that the openers have set. I don’t think Virat Kohli will be too bothered.”

Meanwhile, Kohli blasted his critics after his team’s victory over GT in IPL 2024.

“Not really, all the people who talk about strike-rates and me not playing spin well are the ones talking about this stuff. For me, it’s about winning the games for the team and there’s a reason why you’ve done it for 15 years, you’ve done this day in and day out, you’ve won games for your teams, I’m not quite sure that if you haven’t been in that situation yourself, to sit and talk about the game from the box. For me, people can talk about their assumptions day in and day out, but those who have done day in and day out, they know what’s happening and it’s a kind of muscle memory for me now,” Kohli said.

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Virender Sehwag Asked Sky Sports “GBP 10,000 A Day” For Commentary. This Was The Reply

admin — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 04:39:58 +0000

Virender Sehwag is among the few stars who never shies away from calling a spade, a spade. In a recent interaction, he revealed how an English broadcaster’s request to include him in its panel was turned down by him. He made the revelation while talking to Australian cricket great Adam Gilchrist. Famous broadcaster Sky Sports wanted to have Sehwag in its panel but the business deal rather turned into a hilarious chat after the ex-India opener disclosed it the amount he would charge.

“So once I got a call from Sky Sports that ‘We’ll love to have you in in our panel’. I said ‘But you can’t afford me’. But they said ‘No, give me your price’,” said Sehwag on Club Prairie Fire podcast.

“I said ‘You can’t afford me’ but they said ‘Please give us the price’. Then I said okay ‘GBP 10,000 a day’ and they said ‘Yes you’re right we can’t’,” Sehwag added.

During the same interaction, Sehwag also revealed he was offered $100,000 once by a BBL franchise but he turned down the offer.

The conversation started when Gilchrist asked Sehwag if Indian players would ever play in the Big Bash League. Sehwag, in a witty manner, said that there’s no need as Indian cricketers have a lot of money.

Adam Gilchrist: Do you see a time where Indian players will ever be able to go and play other T20 leagues?

Virender Sehwag: “No, Don’t need. We are rich people, we don’t go to poor countries (laughs)”.

Sehwag then shared his own story when he turned down a big BBL contract.

“No, Don’t need, we are rich people, we don’t go to poor countries for other leagues. I still remember when I was dropped from Indian team, I was playing IPL, then I got offer from BBL that I should participate in Big Bash, I said okay how much money, they said $100,000. I said I can spend that money in my holidays, even last night bill was more than $100,000,” he revealed.

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