Virender Sehwag; One of the most destructive batsmen in cricket

• Virender Sehwag goes down in history as one of the most destructive batsmen in history of cricket. 
• The legendary cricketer opened matches in style and often made opponents lose hope within a short time. 
• Due to his impressive performances, Virender Sehwag won numerous awards and honours, such as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World (2008 and 2010). 

The name Virender Sehwag often pops up when talking about the most destructive batsmen in history. 

The right-handed batsman has a hard-earned profile and a decent record in cricket. During his 16-year career, Virender Sehwag broke numerous records and accomplished countless feats. 

He was particularly known for his hard-hitting style of play which impacted the results of many games. Virender Sehwag got comparisons to Sachin Tendulkar in his early days due to their similar battling style.

Virender Sehwag. Photo/ Chase Your Sport: Sports Social Blog.

Sachin and Sehwag also had the same build-up style and appearance. Sehwag has said numerous times that he tried to model his playing style like Sachin Tendulkar as a youth.

 The Indian cricketer couldn’t achieve the same success as Sachin Tendulkar, but he left a mark in the cricket world due to his aggressive batting. 

Virender Sehwag was voted the fourth scariest batsman in the poll of international bowlers – World’s Scariest Batsman. 

Sehwag’s unorthodox playing style involved backing away to free his arms while playing his shots. Commentators often praised the legendary cricketer for his extremely strong upper cutting and square cutting through the off-side. 

Due to his aggressive style of batting, Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack described him as the most exciting opener in the world. Sehwag’s strike in Test matches was only inferior to Shahid Afridi and Adam Gilchrist. 

Virender Sehwag, one of the most destructive batsmen in cricket, retired from all forms of International cricket in October 2020. 

Domestic Career 

Virender Sehwag made his debut for the Delhi cricket team during the 1997-98 season. He finished fifth in the run-scoring list for the Duleep Trophy the following season after getting selected to the North Zone cricket team.

Virender played his first One Day International on April 1, 1999. He then joined the Indian test side in 2001. 

 The Indian cricketer continued to play domestic cricket despite already starting his international career. He captained the North Zone to the Deodhar Trophy win during the 2004-05 and 2006-06 seasons. 

Virender led Delhi Daredevils in the fifth edition of IPL, where he set the record of being the only batsman to score five consecutive half-centuries in T20s. 

International Career 

Young Virender started his ODI career poorly as he fell to Shoaib Akhtar. He conceded 35 runs off three overs because of his ineffective bowling performance. 

He went without matches until the home series in December 2020 against Zimbabwe. His first impressive performance for India came against Australia when he scored 58 off 54 balls. 

The Indian cricketer had his international breakthrough in August 2001 when he got promoted to the opening slot for the tri-series in Sri Lanka. 

Despite having a massive fanbase, Virender struggled to remain consistent in 2003 and during the 2003/04 season. He recorded just one century and three fifties in 22 matches. 

However, he later established himself as a quality batsman setting several records and winning numerous awards. 

Virender Sehwag got the nickname ‘Sultan of Multan’ in 2004 after playing an amazing inning against Pakistan in Multan. He became the first Indian player to hit a triple century in Test cricket after scoring 309 runs against Pakistan. 

In 2008, Virender set the record for the highest score by any Indian player in an innings in Test Cricket. The legendary batsman scored 319 against South Africa.

Virender Sehwag is one of the most destructive batsmen in cricket. Photo/ DNA India.

Virender Sehwag had a remarkable international career due to his ability to build massive scores at breathtaking speed. He often combined skills, power, imagination and vision on the field hence his outstanding performance. 

Some of his remarkable achievements include being the fastest to score 150, 200, 250 and 300 runs in test innings. And also the fastest to reach the 150 and 200 marks in ODIs. 

Virender Sehwag is the only Indian to receive the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World. He received the award two times – in 2008 and 2009. 

After being out of India’s team for about two years, one of the most destructive batsmen in cricket announced his retirement from international cricket.