Virender Sehwag - Best Indian Cricketer ever?

In my opinion, Sehwag is one of the most under-rated Cricketers in the world and more so in India. Some of his achievements can even dwarf those from the likes of Sachin Tendulkar. For the past decade and a half, the world and Indian cricket scene has been dominated by names like Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, M S Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and others. To me, the only name worthy of comparison to Sehwag is that of Sachin Tendulkar. Others don't even come close (sorry all Ganguly and Dravid fans).

The purpose of this lens is not to be another 'Wiki' on Virender Sehwag or to be another 'Player Profile' (I have links to such website below).

With this lens, my purpose is to help Sehwag get his rightful place among the best of the very best in World Cricket.

Ever since Sehwag's entry into International Cricket, he has been compared to Sachin Tendulkar. As Sehwag continued to shine in world Cricket, the debate kept getting hotter and hotter. Sehwag has himself said several times that he considers Sachin his role model. Then how can a disciple be better than his 'Guru'?

People say that it is unfair to compare these two as both are legends in their own rights. However, it is human nature to compare things and put them in perspective.
Every cricket fan has an 'opinion' on the game and I'm no different.

Obviously, no one can dispute that Sachin is among the best cricketers world has ever produced. No one in world Cricket has come close to Sachin's record and probably no one would ever do so. I'm a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar and his contribution to Indian Cricket has been immense. However, I'm a bigger fan of Virender Sehwag. Viru may not have tens of thousands of runs against his name, but are statistics everything?

As Navjot Singh Sidhu said, "Statistics are like bikinis. They show everything but the real thing."

The web is flooded with information and stories about how Sachin is the best batsman in the world and the God of Cricket, I disagree with such claims. He is undoubtedly among the best but not 'the best'.

I'm from the Sehwag camp (which you've probably guessed from the title of this lens).

How Sehwag is better than Sachin?

1. Sehwag is a big match player, Sachin is a choker. Sachin's record in big games is the biggest blot on his otherwise awesome-looking record. This is a fact, which even his biggest proponents cannot deny.

In Sachin's entire career of 157 matches and 256 innings, there are only 2 times when he scored a 50 or more in the 4th innings and won the match for India.

103 v Eng in Chennai 2008 <- this innings came when Sehwag had scored an explosive 83 and already put England on the back foot.
56 v Pak in Delhi 2007

I think this is one of the biggest evidence that the "so-called" GOD of Cricket chokes in high-pressure situations.

2. Sehwag plays for the country and Sachin for the records. Sehwag approaches all milestones with an unprecedented audacity. He never let's his personal milestones come in the way of country's interest. And this approach helps him keep his mind clear of negative thoughts and results in success more often than not.

Who can forget the breathtaking moment when he reached the first triple hundred ever by an Indian, against Pakistan in Multan, with a Six ! Even during his most recent hundred in the 4th one-dayer against New Zealand, in Hamilton, on 11-Mar-2009, he reached his hundred with a six off Vettori.

In case of Sachin, we all know what he does when he's approaching a milestone. Though he has scored 85 hundreds so far (20-Mar-2009), he has his share of nervous nineties. In 2007, the problem became so severe that his own son Arjun offered him this advice:

"Why don't you just hit a six when you are on 94".

Read this article for the full story:

A new Tendulkar, a new problem

If you are thinking too much of your own milestones, country's interest is bound to suffer.

3. Sehwag has always been considered a basher. But he has a stand-out record in test cricket, so much so that he has outshined Sachin in many aspects.

Sehwag is also known to be a big hundred scorer. In 66 tests that Sehwag has played, Sehwag has scored 2 triple centuries and 3 double centuries. Notably, no other Indian Cricketer has ever scored a triple hundred. His last 11 hundreds have all been scores above 150. And on top of this, his test batting strike rate is an astronomical 78 !

In 156 tests that Sachin has played, he has got only 9 scores of 150-plus out of his 41 centuries. His test batting strike rate is a modest 54.

4. It's not obvious from statistics that India has won so many games where Sehwag has given an explosive start to India but other like Sachin, Yuvraj and Dhoni have walked away with Man-of-the-match awards. A recent example is the 1st one-dayer against New Zealand on 03-Mar-2009, where Sehwag scored 77 in 56 balls, and Mr. Dhoni walked away with the Man of the Match award.

5. Sehwag has a better track record than Sachin against India's arch-rival Pakistan. In 9 tests against Pakistan, Sehwag has scored 1276 runs against Pakistan at an average of 91, whereas Sachin in his 10 matches, has scored only 483, at an average of 40. Sehwag has 4 test hundreds against Pakistan, whereas Sachin has only 1.

6. When Sachin clicks, India wins. But, when Sehwag clicks, India kills.

Having said all this, we still cannot overlook Sachin's achievements. He is the highest run-getter in the history of Cricket, with more than 30,000 runs under his belt. He has scored more centuries than anybody else. He has played and won more games for India than any other Indian Cricketer. He has been playing International Cricket for a phenomenal 20 years and showed remarkable consistency.

Sehwag is certainly the better of the two at the moment, but has he dethroned Sachin Tendulkar to become the numero uno of Indian Cricket? Not yet. Sehwag is certainly on the right path and if he maintains his form and fitness for another 5 years, he may become the new GOD of Indian Cricket.

Game of Cricket, 1790



Kent V Lancashire at Canterbury, 1906



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