Kapil Dev

Calcutta: Kapil Dev’s sixes-record, for India in Tests, has gone for a six. He’s far from disappointed, though.

“A record is meant to be re-written and I’m happy that somebody as devastating as (Virender) Sehwag has broken mine... In fact, till people began talking about it, I didn’t even know the old one was in my name,” India’s lone World Cup-winning captain told The Telegraph.

Speaking on Monday, the day after Sehwag smashed past 61 sixes, stopping at No. 64, Kapil added: “The only other batsman with the same approach that I can think of is Viv (Richards)... Sachin Tendulkar has changed his game, he’s more cautious now... (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni has done much the same... Sehwag, on the other hand, is more aggressive than before.”

Laughing, he quipped: “I’d been expecting Sachin or Sourav Ganguly to hold the sixes-record... Had he not changed his game, Sachin’s tally would surely have been 100-plus (instead of 47)... Sourav too could hit big and very clean.”

Besides a great hand-eye co-ordination, Sehwag’s bindaas approach makes the difference. “It’s his intent which is special... He’s not bound by circumstances... How many have got to 300 with a six (in Multan, early 2004)? But, then, that’s Sehwag,” lauded Kapil.

Reflecting on the Chennai Test, won dramatically by Team India, he said: “When the chase began, I didn’t give Dhoni and Co. more than a 10 per cent chance... (MoM) Sehwag, however, changed everything... It’s almost unreal that somebody can change the course of a match within 68 balls... What an innings of 83! Our chance of winning, in my opinion, straightaway jumped to 60 per cent... Yes, there have been greater batsmen than Sehwag, but few better match-winners...”

Kapil signed off by saying: “Irrespective of what else he achieves, Sehwag will be remembered for giving the position of an opener such a new dimension... He has, single-handedly, changed the rules of the game and his place in history seems assured.”

Indeed, and as Kevin Pietersen has learnt, it doesn’t pay to underestimate an opposition which has Sehwag in the XI.