Viru, beyond the boundaries

Even if the coaching manual says that things need to be kept simple in cricket, there are 99 per cent of players, coaches, support staff and many others associated with the sport who are hell-bent on complicating simple techniques, in the process forget that it’s after all just a game. But not Virender Sehwag.

For a batsman who had to constantly face flak for his technique (or the lack of it), Sehwag, the Delhi dasher has accrued 7845 runs at an more-than-impressive 52.30 in 90 Tests. But aren’t there many who boast of such or better still, better averages? Yes! But here is the catch? How many batsmen in world cricket will boast of a strike-rate of 81.98 in the oldest form of the game? Perhaps, just one. Viru himself.

Asked how he keeps himself so relaxed and so uncluttered, Viru, during a chat some years back, mentioned his belief in Shirdi Sai and the power of music. “I keep humming songs in the middle and whenever I cross a milestone, I say a small prayer to Shirdi Sai Baba and the show goes on,” Viru had said. In the company of Gautam Gambhir, Viru has forged many memorable partnerships.

“I sing Sai Baba bhajans, Kishore Kumar numbers especially the ones that were picturised on Amitabh Bachchan before the bowler is about the deliver. To me, it is all about keeping the mind free from the pressure. An uncluttered mind is all that I ask for,” Viru said. Like many others of his generation, the lad from Najafgarh grew up watching cricket and wanting to emulate the feats of the one and only — Sachin Tendulkar. When Viru burst into the scene a decade ago, he went on to script a sensational hundred on Test debut at Bloemfontein in South Africa against the likes of Shaun Pollock & Co.

Despite the mountain of expectations, Viru continues to bat the way he always has. Despite the situation his team is in, Viru continues with his relentless pursuit of finding the gaps and hitting those boundaries with ridiculous ease. His if-the-ball-is-there-to-be-hit-hit-it approach may not always bear results, but on the day it does, Viru makes it count. If you thought there is no method to Viru’s madness, then you are definitely wrong. He analyses the opposition’s weaknesses and exploits them mercilessly.

Be it his triple-hundred in Multan in 2004, or that fantastic 80-odd on Day Four of the Chennai Test against England in 2008, Sehwag has been at it all the time. What appears to risky for many has over the years become a scoring opportunity for Sehwag. “You still need to hit the ball in the air for it to clear the stands, so there is an element of risk in every shot you play. That risk has to be taken,” Viru counters.

Even as Viru has hit the best in the business beyond the boundary, the right-hander has had a few cheap dismissals against a few ordinary bowlers. Interestingly, Sehwag never looks at the pitch before any match. He maintains that it is the ball that needs to the meat of the blade and not anything else. Such clarity in thought and focus on hitting the ball is what makes Viru make a name for himself in the game. It is also one of the reasons why the right-hander continues to hit those shots beyond the boundary.