Virender Sehwag reveals how he agreed to open the batting for India in Tests; watch video

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag is highly regarded as one of the most destructive opening batsmen of all time. Apparently, his journey as a regular opener began on a hilarious note, as revealed by the cricketer himself on his social media show Viru ki Baithak. Virender Sehwag turned 42 on Tuesday, October 20. To commemorate all the birthday wishes he received from fans and former teammates, he answered his fan queries a day later on his show.

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Virender Sehwag reveals he made Sourav Ganguly and John Wright sign a contract 

During an interactive Q&A session with his fans on social media, Virender Sehwag was asked by a certain user whether he made any “agreement” with Sourav Ganguly when he was asked to open the innings in Test cricket back in 2002. The ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’ revealed that during India’s tour of England in 2002, he was asked by his then captain Ganguly to open in Tests for India. Sehwag said that he initially refused his skipper but was later convinced to do so by his team management.

Virender Sehwag said that he was asked to open in Tests because of his form in ODI cricket. The cricketer revealed that since his preferred batting position was in the middle order, he asked Sourav Ganguly and then coach John Wright to give him a “written agreement”. The agreement in contention was in regards to his opening stance, i.e. should he fail with the bat in his first few innings, he should get another chance in the middle-order for India before getting dropped from the side altogether.

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Interestingly, before the hilarious “written agreement” scenario, Virender Sehwag also asked captain Sourav Ganguly to appoint Sachin Tendulkar as Test opener instead. Ganguly told him that while he and Tendulkar themselves preferred to bat in the middle-order as well, he would make the ‘Master Blaster’ open the Indian innings if Sehwag managed to convince the batting icon. The Delhi-based cricketer then agreed to open the innings once he received the “agreement” from his then captain and coach.

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A look into Virender Sehwag stats in international cricket

The Virender Sehwag stats in international cricket composes of some staggering numbers. Ever since he made his international debut back in 1999, he represented the national side in 104 Tests, 251 ODIs and 19 T20Is till his final appearance in 2013. He scored over 17,000 international runs across all formats, with most of those runs coming at the top of the order while facing the new ball. Virender Sehwag was also part of the Indian side that lifted the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 Cricket World Cup.

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Image source: PTI