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Hats off to Sehwag

Virender Sehwag's attacking century on a seaming Nottingham pitch has forced me to have a re-think on my comment that he should not be opening at Test level.

However, this only makes me happy since there can be nothing healthier for Indian cricket than talented youngsters proving doubters like me wrong. I can only doff my hat to Sehwag and say `well done lad.' He deserves the accolades for sure.

On a pitch where survival was tough with the ball darting around, he produced strokes of stunning brilliance, and there may be room for him as an aggressive opener. In fact, watching Sehwag take the battle into the English camp, I was reminded of my own ways with the willow.

This is a crucial stage in Sehwag's career. We know he has the ability, and every effort must be made to ensure that the team uses his potential to the maximum.

It is important for the team management to have a heart-to-heart talk with Sehwag, find out his `comfort level' while opening the innings, and ask him whether he could continue with the job for some more years, at least.

Now that Sehwag has tasted success at the top of the order under demanding circumstances, he should continue to open the innings in both forms of the game. Let's not push him up and down the order any more.

We have the example of V.V.S. Laxman. He began in the middle-order, was forced to open since that was the only way he could make the eleven, enjoyed a degree of success, but soon found himself out of the side after a couple of failures.

That was a phase when even a gifted batsman like Laxman appeared `confused', not knowing where his future lay. All credit to Laxman for fighting his way back.

The turning point was his `conscious decision' to say `no' to opening the innings. Laxman had made up his mind that if he played again for India, it would be as a middle-order batsman. He has been proved right too.

Going back to the '70s and '80s, Aunshuman Gaekwad was a middle-order batsman before he was asked to face the new ball in the West Indies. Gaekwad batted courageously and made a fair name for himself as an opener.

Sehwag is a vastly different from Gaekwad in the sense that he really launches into the bowlers, and there are no half measures when he puts bat to ball. He is completely uninhibited and is seldom pressured by situations, and this is a trait I have noticed in him since his under-19 days.

A powerful striker, he is just the kind of batsman who can put pressure on the opposing bowlers, knock them off their length. There will always be a place for someone like him. Let's be decisive about his batting slot though and give him a fair run.

www.krishsrikkanth.com

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