Everyone knows that Virender Sehwag completely changed the batting dimension in Test cricket, but former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday insisted that the Delhi batsman did it at a time when the game was being played in the presence of world-class bowlers. was ‘too strong’. Sehwag, Diana Edulji and Arvind de Silva were inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame on Monday. Ganguly wrote a letter praising Sehwag, which was shared by the International Cricket Council, in which the former Indian captain said, ‘What makes you special is the way you bat. You changed the dimension of batting at the top in Test cricket.
He said, ‘It was a different era then. In the early 2000s, Test cricket was very strong with the presence of world-class players, but you completely changed the art of batting in Test cricket. The former president of the Indian Cricket Board said, ‘The innings that proves it is your 293 against Sri Lanka in 2009. To score so many runs in one day in Test cricket, and that too against an attack that includes Muttiah Muralitharan, shows what you are capable of.
Ganguly said, ‘You enjoyed playing in different formats and you were good in ODI cricket but I think you were even better in Test cricket.’ Ganguly said, ‘You can do it in every situation and your triple century in Multan is one of my favorite innings. You hit sixes to reach 200 and then did the same to reach 300 – and you told us you were going to do that. Let us tell you that this aggressive opening batsman played 104 Tests, 251 ODI Internationals and 19 T20 International matches for India and was part of the Indian team that won the 2011 ODI World Cup and 2007 T20 World Cup.
Ganguly said that the ICC has chosen the right person to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He described his former teammate as a legendary cricketer and perhaps the best opening batsman since Sunil Gavaskar. The former Indian captain recalled how Sehwag made a strong comeback in the Indian team after an initial failure. Sourav said, ‘When you came back to the team, you were a middle-order batsman. You were never an opening batsman but that was about to change soon. “We gave you this responsibility because we could not make room for you in the middle order and also we knew that a player of your caliber cannot sit on the bench,” Ganguly said.
He said, “I remember when I told you that you should try to open the innings, you were unsure because you had never done it. I believe that no one is born to bat in a certain position and you have the skills you have. You can do it because of talent.’