Virender Sehwag

India|Top order Batter
Virender Sehwag
INTL CAREER: 1999 - 2013
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Alphabetically sorted top ten of players who have played the most matches across formats in the last 12 months

Full Name

Virender Sehwag

Born

October 20, 1978, Delhi

Age

45y 151d

Batting Style

Right hand Bat

Bowling Style

Right arm Offbreak

Playing Role

Top order Batter

Virender Sehwag has constructed an extraordinary career with a relentless quest, and a genius, for boundary hitting. With minimal footwork but maximum intent, he has piled Test runs at a faster pace than anyone in the history of cricket. Bowlers must always fancy their chances against a batsman who plays so many strokes; it's just that Sehwag fancies his chances against them much more.

As a starry-eyed youngster from Najafgarh, where his family ran a flour mill, Sehwag grew up, like many others from his generation, wanting to be Sachin Tendulkar. Indeed, when he scored his first one-day hundred, filling up for his injured idol against New Zealand in Sri Lanka, he could have been mistaken for him: there was the same back-foot punch on the off side, the minimalistic straight drive and the wristy whip to the leg. And on his Test debut, on a fiery pitch in Bloemfontein, he matched the master stroke for stroke as they both blazed away to hundreds. But soon he emerged his own man, and not long after Tendulkar was playing a supporting, and somewhat calming, hand as Sehwag romped away to a triple-hundred, the first by an Indian, in Multan, bringing it up with a six. Two Tests ago, he had been dismissed trying the same stroke five short of what would have been his first Test double-hundred.

His uncomplicated approach - batting is all about scoring as many runs as quickly as possible - belies a sharp and street-smart cricket mind. He has a keen grasp of his own, and his opponents', strengths and weaknesses and exploits them in a forensic manner. What appears risky to many, is merely an opportunity for him, and his lack of footwork, which does get him in trouble against the moving ball, is mostly an advantage, for it creates space for his brilliant handwork. Few batsmen have hit the ball harder square on the off side, and fewer still have hit them as frequently. And the sight of a spinner brings the savage out in him: and for many spectacular assaults against the world's leading spinners, there have numerous outrageous dismissals against the not-so-reputed ones.

The most remarkable aspect of Sehwag's career of course has been his ability to build massive scores at breathtaking speed. He holds the Indian record for highest number of Test double-hundreds, and came within seven runs of becoming the first batsman to score three triple-hundreds. That innings, against Sri Lanka at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, epitomised the Sehwag brand of batsmanship: a mix of imagination, daring, power, skills, and clarity of vision. His ODI career doesn't have as many high points, and yet he held the record for the highest score in that format at one point, scoring an astonishing 219 against West Indies in Indore. The most remarkable feature of the innings was the ease with which he reached the landmark, completing his double-hundred with more than six overs to spare.

Sehwag is equally refreshing off the field and shares his views on the game in an endearingly direct and candid manner, a rare trait among contemporary cricketers. He is, in every sense, a true original.
Sambit Bal

Virender Sehwag Career Stats

Batting & Fielding

FormatMatInnsNORunsHSAveBFSR100s50s4s6sCtSt
Tests1041806858631949.341044182.232332123391910
ODIs2512459827321935.057929104.3315381132136930
T20Is191803946821.88271145.3802431620
FC194321111468331947.36--4255--1660
List A332321141045421934.05--1657--1200
T20s1591576406112226.892747147.83224487147420

Bowling

FormatMatInnsBallsRunsWktsBBIBBMAveEconSR4w5w10w
Tests1049137311894405/1045/11847.353.0493.2010
ODIs25114643923853964/64/640.135.2645.7100
T20Is1916200---20.00-000
FC194-861444701055/104-42.573.1182.0-10
List A332-600951541424/64/636.295.1442.3300
T20s15928358496223/143/1422.548.3116.2000
Virender Sehwag

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Photos of Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag and Muthiah Muralidaran, both former ODI World Cup winners, mock tussle with the trophy at an event in Mumbai
Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh share a light moment
Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar put together an unbeaten century stand
Jonty Rhodes, Virender Sehwag, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Brett Lee pose at an event to promote the Road Safety World Series T20 cricket league
Muttiah Muralitharan and Virender Sehwag have a chat
Virender Sehwag in the dugout