Dear Viru,
It is quite strange and awkward to see how things flicker away so easily and so do memories. It is rather disheartening not to see you in those unnumbered blue jerseys for India for the past couple of years, opening the batting for India with murderous instincts to endeavour the good prospects for the opposition. And the worse part of the story is the prolonged wait continues till now. Just as the coin has two faces, the other part of the story being your dedication for the game and still not losing hope for a comeback which is indeed something one can learn from you. I do believe that there are good chances for your comeback, owing to the scintillating cricketing talent you possess.
When it comes to proving a point, hardly, there are a few players who match your class. Since Cricket, being a game of numbers, let me prove it by cherishing statistics. Your ODI debut was not as lively as your career as you were dismissed by scoring a single run off 5 deliveries in that match against Pakistan in April, 1999. Some critics must have underrated you then but you, like a boss, proved them wrong in the first match against Australia in March, 2001. Coming in to bat at number six, you scored a majestic 58 runs off 54 deliveries. And that was not it. With the ball, you ensured India end up on the winning side by taking 3 wickets. Virender Sehwag announced his presence to international cricket with immense prowess!
Also, apart from making a serious point for yourself from nowhere, you did prove your flexibility as a batsman too. When being asked to open the innings for India due to the absence of Sachin Tendulkar in mid-2000, you stood up for the same and unhesitatingly padded up to face the initial overs. And your first ODI century against New Zealand in August, 2001 off 70 deliveries was a class apart. It just marked the introduction of genuine entertaining cricket for the fans.
Being a school kid, I was severely thrilled by your way of batting then. Your thunderous innings on a consistent basis during the Champions Trophy, 2002 earned you the title ‘Delhi Hurricane’! Despite the target being 270, 280 or even more, I started to believe India could chase them down since you were there to take care of the run-rates. And you did play with such brute force which amplified the levels of joy in me. I am thankful to you on that note. You were also quite a trump card for India with the ball. The semi final of the ICC Champions trophy, against South Africa where you took 3 wickets and bowled a sensational last over was simply spellbound. In fact, a person with 96 ODI wickets seriously needs a special mention for it.
India had got a terrific opening batsman, probably one of the best of all time in the like of Virender Sehwag. In the ICC World Cup, 2003, you did manage to give thunderous starts to the team. Those innings of 30s did set up the momentum for the team. In the final, after losing Sourav, Sachin early on, I am sure that a million Indians alongside me hoped that you’d take us through to victory. But it was a tough ask. Still you managed a fighting 81 run-innings.
The inception of the name, ‘Sultan of Multan’ came soon in March, 2004. You became the first Indian to score a triple century in the test platform and you still remain the only player to strike two triple tons for India in tests. In this note, once again you proved critics wrong. You were considered as a pinch-hitter kind of batsman and some even went onto predict your thinning prospects in tests. But, just like your signature style, casually you trashed such predictions by scoring over 8000 runs in tests. In fact, test cricket was lucky to have someone such audacious, casual yet the best in the business like you. It is hard to imagine someone going for a six even when he’s on 195 in a test. But, the name Virender Sehwag is a trademark to such instincts and fearless attitude.
You defined ways to enjoy the game and the showering confidence which you had upon yourself can be an inspiration for everyone. I still remember your words after you were dismissed in the nineties while trying to hit a ball. Just in the typical Sehwag way, you said, ‘At that moment you felt it right and that’s why you did it. So no point regretting it’. One got to admire such courage, undoubtedly. You played a dependable part for the opening stand in the 2011 World Cup and you struck the joint-highest knock of 175 runs in a World Cup match by an Indian batsman. You had immense contributions to the World Cup win.
Even you stood up whenever the team needed a captain and captained the Indian side on a number of occasions, quite often to victorious ones. Just as the pinch hitting instinct goes, you justified your image by striking an ODI double century against West Indies in November, 2011. Your innings of 219 runs was somewhat master-class.
Things have been rather displeasing since then as just like any other professionals, you had a period of dip in form. You struggled and as expected, people forgetting your goods, started criticizing you and questioned your place in the team. Still, you are not from an origin to even think about giving up. You kept up fighting and did prove a point with a whirling century in the IPL play-offs, 2014 against CSK. Also, in the past Ranji season, you played a decent number of well poised knocks. The past IPL was not that memorable for you as we can sense the immense pressure you were going through at the time. Many of us believe that you still possess a couple of years of cricket in you. And I know you will make justice to it in a typical thunderous yet casual way.
I hereby await for the day when you’d be wearing the Indian jersey again and will fearlessly play those glorious upper cuts while murmuring old hindi songs, in the typical Sehwag way, fearlessness with a tinge of casualty, owing to maximizing results.
Yours Sincerely,
A Viru fan.
This letter was first published on crictracker