Rahul Dravid pinpoints Virender Sehwag's weakness that made the English deny his greatness

Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid is widely regarded as one of the greatest Test batsmen of all time. While the cricketer believed in grinding out hours at the crease and was known for his solid defensive technique with the bat, his ex-teammate Virender Sehwag scored runs at a brisk pace at the top of the order. The two cricketers can pretty much be referred to as the ‘yin and yang’ of Test match batting due to their vastly different takes with the blade, with both proving out to be effective for the Indian team in their own distinct manners.

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Rahul Dravid talks about Virender Sehwag

In June 2014, Rahul Dravid gave his take on Virender Sehwag’s batting technique and dissected his strength and weakness as part of ESPNCricinfo’s Modern Masters. In a chat with the cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar, the 164-Test veteran answered why Sehwag held lower batting averages in testing conditions like England and South Africa in comparison to his performance in the subcontinent. Manjrekar revealed something which he learned during one of his commentary stints, that England cricket experts never considered Virender Sehwag as one of the greats of the game.

Rahul Dravid said that the attacking opener is one such batsman who refuses to adapt his technique according to different conditions and match situations. Speaking around the time when Sehwag was dropped from the side in 2014, Dravid also cited the ageing factor as one of the reasons that call for a change in his batting approach. The former skipper added that his attacking style of batting is not something which will always necessarily work on swinging English pitches where one needs to be patient and respective of the pacers. Rahul Dravid mentioned that while Sehwag’s aggressive batting has been his strength throughout his career, it has also been the reason behind his undoing on a few occasions.

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Harmanpreet Kaur praises Virender Sehwag

Indian women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur recently praised Virender Sehwag while describing the opening batsman as her idol. During a chat with Harsha Bhogle for Cricbuzz, Kaur said said that she was so fond of Sehwag’s batting while growing up that she felt herself to be more nervous than him before every match. The women’s skipper also admitted to copying his shots while practising as she wished to become like him one day.

Virender Sehwag stats

The sheer Virender Sehwag stats is an indication of his destructive abilities across all formats. He is one of only 4 batsmen in the world to have registered two triple-centuries in Test cricket. Throughout his 14-year international journey with the Indian team, the right-hander scored 8,586 runs at an average of 49.34 in 104 Tests and was part of the World No.1 Test side between 2009 and 2011. He ended his Test career at a staggering strike-rate of 82.23. Meanwhile, Virender Sehwag stats in ODIs comprises of 8,273 runs in 251 matches with 15 centuries and 38 half-centuries.

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Image credit: Rahul Dravid’s screenshot from Oaktree Sports YouTube and ICC Twitter