The irony is inescapable. Virender Sehwag [Images], one of the most explosive batsmen in contemporary cricket who literally had the world at his feet until recently, is fast vanishing from the public memory. No one, not even his staunch critics, had imagined such a situation till late last year.
Had he been a member of Team India, people would have come in droves today at Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Ahmedabad to see him in action during the NKP Salve Trophy Challenger Series. But the presence of only a handful of spectators in the stands confirms the fact that cricket lovers are no longer interested in Sehwag.
And they didn't miss anything as far as Sehwag's performance is concerned. The once dynamic batsman, playing for India Blue against India Red, fell for 9 after struggling to survive at the crease for 31 minutes. He offered a simple catch at cover-point to S Badrinath off medium-pacer Praveen Kumar.
He needed 7 balls to open his account, which he did with a four, and after the completion of the first five overs of the India Blue innings, he was still batting on the same score. One has seldom or never seen Sehwag being checked and dominated by the bowlers in this manner for so long.
Of course, Sehwag would be the first to admit that he has only himself to blame for the sorry state that he is in today. He has got many opportunities despite his lack of form but he has failed to grab them with both hands.
The irony is inescapable. Virender Sehwag [Images], one of the most explosive batsmen in contemporary cricket who literally had the world at his feet until recently, is fast vanishing from the public memory. No one, not even his staunch critics, had imagined such a situation till late last year.
Had he been a member of Team India, people would have come in droves today at Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Ahmedabad to see him in action during the NKP Salve Trophy Challenger Series. But the presence of only a handful of spectators in the stands confirms the fact that cricket lovers are no longer interested in Sehwag.
And they didn't miss anything as far as Sehwag's performance is concerned. The once dynamic batsman, playing for India Blue against India Red, fell for 9 after struggling to survive at the crease for 31 minutes. He offered a simple catch at cover-point to S Badrinath off medium-pacer Praveen Kumar.
He needed 7 balls to open his account, which he did with a four, and after the completion of the first five overs of the India Blue innings, he was still batting on the same score. One has seldom or never seen Sehwag being checked and dominated by the bowlers in this manner for so long.
Of course, Sehwag would be the first to admit that he has only himself to blame for the sorry state that he is in today. He has got many opportunities despite his lack of form but he has failed to grab them with both hands.
He had yet another chance to prove his worth when he was picked in the Indian XI that took on the Australians in the one-off Twenty20 game at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. But, as expected, his wretched form continued to chase him like his shadow.
Poor Sehwag! He isn't 30 yet and rather than becoming a finished product he looks like finishing himself at an age when top batsmen like him attain full maturity.
Not long ago, Sehwag seemed to have the measures of most bowlers regardless of his alleged lack of footwork and proper technique. Now the picture has changed. Today the bowlers appear to have Sehwag's measures! They now play on Sehwag's weaknesses, both in terms of technique and temperament, relegating him to an ordinary batsman.
Let's face it. Sehwag has lost his touch and confidence. He is still hungry for runs, for success, but the two are increasingly eluding him. Sehwag hasn't done anything noticeable, leave alone extraordinary, in recent times and he gives an impression of playing for every team on his past reputation only.
India still needs Sehwag. He is too rare a gem to be lost so easily and so suddenly. But he has to work hard to regain his form, his glory, his celebrity status and, most importantly, his place in Team India.
But it won't be possible if he doesn't improve his technique, his footwork and his shot selection, among others. The sooner he realises this, the better. But it really isn't a pleasant sight to see Sehwag struggle at th
if you see the batting order of india and Sehwag under Dravid as captain and Chapple as coach you will see what is the reason of the failures..INfact why Sehwag only..Even Kaif, Raina or even Tendulkar-at no.4 failed during their times becuase or horrible captaincy and coaching experiments...We did well at home with spinners and other bowlers doing well but failed horribly everywhere else.. As far as I remember; we have had Sehwag, Dhoni, Sachin, Gambhir, uthapa, ganguly, dravid himself and even Kaif-once open the batting in 2 yrs under dravid...and none of tht was due to any injuries...mmost time 3-4 of these were in the 11 also... The only reason Ind won in tests is bcoz no batting order changes were made..I wonder why Sehwag was not given a chance in test instead of ODIs in Bangladesh..Dravid had some obsession with Kartick and luckily for him he did well;;; but i still want to see Sehwag in the team as he was only other batsman i love to watch besides sachin and dhoni-when in form... _________hotworldcup.com
RE:people to blame;; CHappel and Dravid
by Hiren Bhavsar on Oct 26, 2007 02:33 PM
hey u bloddy copycat this is plagiarism do u knw tht.. i posted this msg exactly 12 hrs ago...now u r copy pasting it...do u really know it is against law..well look who i m talking to..u r one of those typical indians...keep on--mera bharat mahaan...
He has tasted sucess in his style of playing. He cannot learn. If he wanted to, he would have learnt by now. Now there is no need. We have Robin Uthapa, rejuvenated Yuvaraj, others in the bench. Leave him alone. enjoy new and more courageous youngsters. Let vintage memory fill your hearts. Do not try to make vintage wine out of sour drink.
RE:Sehwag - a batsman of yesteryear
by Hiren Bhavsar on Oct 26, 2007 02:38 PM
hahahahaah Uthapa??? who scores 40 when plays well or fails? Yuvraj..-- the most selfish wanna be captain attitude guy...bloddy useless fellow..only good for 20-20.. bench---good..keep everyone on bench..we dont need anyone on the ground bcoz there they suck anyways... hv ur vintage memories wipe us a*s..dont watch new matches from now on...
