Virender Sehwag

Peshawar: Team India vice-captain Virender Sehwag speaks little as he prefers his bat to do all the talking. In the lead-up to the first ODI, though, he spoke to The Telegraph for almost an hour at the Pearl Continental.

The following are excerpts:

Q As a kid did you have ambitions other than becoming a cricketer?

A No... On non-school days, once I left home in the mornings, I returned only when my folks literally dragged me back late in the evening... Bus cricket ka nasha tha...

Do you remember the first bat you bought?

I think it was a BDM Dynamic Power, for which I paid Rs 2,400.

You’ve always talked highly of coach Amar Nath Sharma. How much of an influence did he have on you?

Actually, my first coach was Shashi Kale of the Surmount Club in Najafgarh... He recognised my talent and felt I should get exposure beyond that area. He was on good terms with Mr Sharma, games incharge of the Government Co-Ed Senior Secondary School in Vikaspuri, and so I enrolled there... I was in class IX and, for me, that was a turning point... Later, I joined Madras Club and got to work with coach Satish Sharma.

Do you still interact with Mr Sharma?

Oh, yes... I have nets in my old school and, after every series, try and have a word with him. In fact, he’d noticed an error during the tour of Zimbabwe last year and pointed it out when I met him on coming home... I’d begun to play the back-foot punch to cover and was getting out... He said I must play it either straight or towards cover... I have enormous respect for him.

For him, then, you aren’t a superstar?

I respect everybody and you won’t find me behaving like a star. I can’t, of course, speak about the impression carried by those who don’t know me... I haven’t changed as a person.

What did Mr Sharma teach you?

That the swing of the bat has to be good... That the transfer of weight has to be good... That the front-foot is important... If he noticed something at nets, he would stop the bowlers and correct it then itself.

When was the first time you saw hero Sachin Tendulkar play?

On the TV, during the 1992 World Cup in Australia... I remember having exams then in school, but would finish the three-hour papers in half-an-hour so that I could be home for the second session, which usually began at 8.40 am... Everybody was amazed, but I managed it.

Did you pass?

(Laughs) I did, yes.

Your India debut (in the Mohali ODI against Pakistan, 1999) was disappointing. Weren’t you prepared for big-time cricket?

Well, I came low in the order and had a few overs at my disposal... When I got dropped after that, I got the fastest bowlers to bowl at me from 16 yards because Shoaib Akhtar’s pace had been hot... It’s on facing him that I realised I wasn’t used to such quick bowling.

What else did you do?

Practised at the bowling machine with the speed set at 80 mph and more... Having played once, dubara khelne ki bhookh badh gayi... I was more hungry than ever before.

Your comeback was versus Zimbabwe a year-and-half later. Again, you didn’t make much of an impression in that ODI. However, you did on the next call-up ? against Australia, in Bangalore (2001)?

I won the Man-of-the-Match award despite an injury while fielding... I was able to show the world that I had the ability to perform on the big stage... At different times, Sourav (Ganguly) and Aunshuman Gaekwad, the India coach when I made my debut, would say I should wait for the next chance and grab it. I did just that.

The Test debut came eight months later ? in South Africa (Bloemfontein). What were your thoughts that November morning?

My mind wasn’t cluttered and I wasn’t worried about the pressure... I came at a difficult time (four down for 64) and still got a hundred... That I’d got big scores in the first-class matches at home is what gave me confidence... Frankly, I wanted to shed the ‘fit-for-ODIs-only’ label ....

Your hero, Sachin, was at the other end. What did he tell you?

‘Enjoy the moment... It won’t come again’ and ‘pressure feel mat karna...’ It was in the 90s that I became conscious of being close to a hundred... I realised I must get there before the second new ball was taken...

One turning point was when you shifted to the Vikaspuri school. As an India player, wouldn’t the turning point be when Sourav and the then coach, John Wright, asked you to open during the Tests in England (2002)?

Jee haan... Main agree karta hoon... When the suggestion came, I said two things: (a) That I be given a fair chance and (b) If I failed, I should be taken back in the middle-order... Sourav and Wright agreed and the confidence they showed made it easier for me... After all, opening in Tests isn’t the same as doing that job in ODIs... (After a pause) Till I got to open, I wasn’t a regular in the XI.

Now, you’re a full-fledged Test opener...

Today, yes, but can’t say about the future... It’s possible that when Sachin, Sourav and Rahul Dravid retire, I may have to lend solidity to the middle-order...

How did teammates react to your opening for the first time (at Lord’s)?

(Laughs again) In those days, Rahul used to say ‘pata nahi tu kab out ho jaye ga’... He doesn’t say that any more...

Generally, what’s the confidence Sourav gave?

Lots... Sourav and Wright... A good captain recognises a matchwinner and Sourav saw me as one and backed me consistently... He backed a lot of youngsters, too... Like Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj (Singh), Zaheer Khan... If the captain and coach are so supportive, you give 110 and not just 100 per cent... Rahul and Greg Chappell are doing the same thing.

Where would you place Sourav as a captain?

The best after Steve Waugh... Among other things, a good captain has to make things happen... Both did that... The captaincy is tested when partnerships have to be broken. Steve, in particular, was brilliant in creating pressure... The batsmen would be forced to give it away. Both Steve and Sourav were positive.

Nowadays, Sourav isn’t a certainty even in the Test XI. Do you feel for him?

Main comment nahin karna chahta... In any case, I don’t decide on the XI...

You’ve yourself captained in a Test (Motera, versus Sri Lanka). What was the experience like?

Wonderful... Bahut maaza aya... All the players supported me and when the team is so united, the captain can’t ask for more... I didn’t feel the pressure at all and the win gave us the series...

What will be your style when you do get the captaincy full-time?

Haven’t given it a thought... Perhaps, I could have something to say when the time approaches.

You go for your shots straightaway... What are your thoughts when you take guard?

I have an open mind... I’m also clear about not letting go a bad ball... An aggressive batsman has to use his aggression, otherwise... Yes, three slips and two gullies are going to be there, but there’s plenty of vacant area between point and mid-off... Aap us space ko istamal kar sakte hain... And, once you hit a bad ball, the bowler loses confidence and could offer two more bad balls...

That 309 is there, but which is your best Test innings?

The 195 on the first day at the MCG on our last tour of Australia (2003-04)... I got hit on the helmet, got beaten and dropped in the first session... Once I weathered that, I opened out after lunch... Played all my shots...

Today, do you regret not getting the four runs (at the Gaddafi) which would have given you and Rahul the world record for the highest opening stand in Tests?

Ab nahin hua... At 410, we went out (in poor light) for the record only... Perhaps, there will be another time... (After a pause) Here, I wish to clarify that I didn’t say I had no idea about Pankaj Roy and Vinoo Mankad... You were there at that Media conference when I acknowledged being unaware of their record... That’s it... How can an Indian cricketer not know about a Vinoo Mankad? I can’t understand why sections of the Media made such an issue when none existed...

What do records hold for you?

Whether I get a record or not, life doesn’t change. I don’t play for records.

Who would you pick as the toughest bowler?

If I’m not in form then Shane Warne, (Muttiah) Muralidharan, Brett Lee, Shoaib and Glenn McGrath are very tough... Facing them, you’ve got to be at your best...

Your message for youngsters...

Be clear about the shape you want your career to take... Admi apne aap se kabhi jhooth nahin bol sakta... Don’t go for a career where you can’t put in that 100 per cent... Can’t make sacrifices...

How do you unwind?

I don’t carry the cricket back to the hotel, I leave it behind in the dressing room... It’s not that I won’t watch a cricket telecast when I’m back at the hotel, but I don’t like talking about it...One needs a break and I like watching DVDs...

Wife Arti is a regular companion just about everywhere. What are both of you fond of?

Movies... The last we saw in a theatre was Dosti... We chat a lot as well... Husband-wife ki baatein hoti hain...

[Arti, as also Rahul’s wife Vijeta and infant son Samit, left after the Karachi Test.]

What’s her level of interest in cricket?

(Laughs once again) It’s limited to my batting!

Finally, what made you join the restaurant business?

I got a proposal and found it interesting... Sehwag Favourites opened in New Delhi before this tour and, by now, must have opened in Ludhiana as well... I understand Kanpur is next in line... It’s a vegetarian food court, not a restaurant, and the prices have been kept reasonable.. Each outlet is going to be in a mall. Hopefully, in the next five years, Sehwag Favourites will be there in 25 cities.