Sehwag would have scored 10,000 runs had he played for any other country, opines Rashid Latif
Former Pakistan wicket-keeper Rashid Latif heaped praise on Virender Sehwag and opined that the explosive right-hander would have easily scored over 10,000 runs had he played for any other country. Rashid stated that Sehwag’s career was overshadowed by big names such as Sachin and Dravid.
A calm-headed persona who personified aggression with the bat, Virender Sehwag had an utter disdain for the art of bowling and almost single-handedly revolutionized the role of an opening batsman in Test cricket. In his 104-match Test career, Sehwag amassed over 8500 runs at a strike rate of 82 and an average close to 50 and ended his career as one of the all-time greats.
However, despite being immensely popular, Sehwag, in the pantheon of greats in Indian cricket, still lies behind the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid and this, according to former Pakistan wicket-keeper Rashid Latif, was one of the reasons why the right-hander never got to realize his true potential. Rashid believes that Sehwag, who ended his career with 8,586 Test runs, was overshadowed by other big names in the team and would have easily ended up with more than 10,000 Test runs had he played for any other country.
"He played with Sachin, played with Rahul and remained under their shadow. If he was playing for any other country then he would've easily crossed 10 thousand runs, only one and a half thousand runs were remaining," Latif said in a YouTube video, reported TOI.
"Maybe his team had bigger names, bigger players but opponents were always wary of the impact that Sehwag could have on a game.”
Despite boasting of impeccable numbers, the Nawab of Najafgarh, during his playing days, came under criticism for his technique - which had all but no feet movement - but Rashid, contrary to popular opinion, suggested that Sehwag’s footwork could actually have been the reason for the opener’s success. The 51-year-old then went on to describe the Indian’s technique as ‘unique’.
"It's wrong to say his feet didn't move. He had unique technique with a very strong base. He was superb on the backfoot, used to cut, pull, hook with ease," said Latif.
"He had beautiful balance. People say that he had limited feet movement but that was perhaps the reason why he was so successful. And coaches nowadays have started to say that keep your balance with minimum foot movement.”
The former Pakistani wicket-keeper further raved about how the Indian opener dominated even the best of bowlers, including the likes of Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath and Shoaib Akhtar.
"He (Sehwag) used to play to dominate. We are used to openers who were a bit circumspect at the beginning, gauging how the pitch is, who the bowler is whether (Glenn) McGrath, Brett Lee, Wasim Akram or Shoaib Akhtar.
"But Sehwag was someone who feared none. He was an impactful player, had a great influence in his team and players like him succeed in world cricket.”
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