Sehwag relives debut days; talks about Sachin, Ganguly
Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag on Sunday revealed how Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly motivated him on his journey to become an unstoppable force in the international circuit.
Sehwag relived his unforgettable debut against Pakistan in Mohali in 1999. In this match, he managed to score just one run and was smashed over the park for 35 runs in his three overs.
"I could not see the ball which got me out. It was that quick. Shahid Nazir ki ball par edge lag gayi and jaise taise ek single mil gaya (I Got an edge of Shahid Nazir's ball somehow), but Shoaib was really quick.
"I was sitting alone in the team bus when Sourav Ganguly approached me and said, "Agar drop hota hain toh itne run maarna ki vaapas tam me aaye (If you get dropped, score so many runs that you can come back to the team)," he said, as quoted by Hindustan Times.
The advice helped him come through the difficult phase. He fought his way back into the Indian squad for the South Africa series in 2001. After a solid performance scoring 757 runs at an average of 58 for Delhi, Sehwag was more than relieved to have found his place back into the squad. Coming in to bat with the team down at 68/4, Sehwag had not much of an advantage as he had a challenge ready for him.
On a green pitch, and under overcast conditions Sehwag shared his conversation with the Master Blaster who said, "Gudgudi ho rahi hain paet mein? (Are you feeling butterflies in your stomach)" To this, Sehwag responded, "Woh sab chhodo sir, yeh batao kya ho raha hain pitch par (Leave all that, tell me how is the pitch behaving)."
The Sultan of Multan also spoke about the Multan test, which earned him that name and recalled how Sachin had to calm him down using threats.
"After I had my fourth six, Tendulkar came up to me and said 'Mai tere ko bat se marunga agar tune phir six maara toh (I will hit you with the bat if you hit a six again)'. I did not hit a six till I reached 295 and when I reached that score, I told Tendulkar, "Agar Saqlain (Mushtaq) aayega to mai chhakka marunga (If Saqlain comes into the attack, I will hit a six)," Sehwag said. And true to his word, Sehwag whacked Saqlain for a six over deep mid-wicket to reach the historic landmark of becoming the first Indian to score a triple-hundred. Read also: Virender Sehwag, the Un-Opener: A tribute
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