The Decline Of Sehwag

[hawkeye]

Can Sehwag make his way back to the Indian team? Will he ever be able to replace Vijay or Dhawan or Rohit in the opening position or can he find a place in the middle order?

Sehwag ignored the precepts that were handed down throughout the history of the game and followed his own way. Purists looked askance at his methods.
Opening batsmen werent expected to blaze away from the first ball as Sehwag did; they were supposed to remove the gloss off the new ball and the sting from the opening bowlers before assuming the ascendency, making the road smoother for himself and his comrades to follow. Sehwag chose a completely different path and he would not be diverted from it.

The Decline Of The Daredevil

 

[surendar]

I would say, he just needs some self motivation & confidence to make a come back to team India. He is definitely an explosive batsman & I do not think that playing in middle order will solve his rough patch problems. He is not a kind of technique player to survive in the middle order, he should open the batting and he needs to have that element of guts/confidence/motivation everything together to play his natural explosive role.

Not only now, ever since his debut - he has always failed( in ODIs & Tests ) whenever he tried to attempt that sheet anchor role, it isn't his natural character.

 

[grkrama]

I guess his reflexes have slowed , if it was just matter of confidence hew would have blasted of runs in state matches but poor form is continuing, esp he is getting hit on helmet by mediocre bowlers who would have once dreaded to bowl to him.
I dont think he can make back,gambhir has chances ahead of him.but will really miss viru.Do hope he proves me wrong.

 

[SaiSrini]

To me, Sehwag lived longer than he was expected to, with the kind of technique/attitude/temperament that he had. He had a great career and got the kind of success that puts him along India's greats (although not at a very high position). He should be happy with it, and now move on to the next stage of his life. I think this chapter is almost over, as I do not expect Sehwag to make the kind of miraculous comebacks that Ganguly is known for!

 

[AbhishekS]

A similar discussion going on on another forum. I would just want to quote some posts from there to continue the discussion in the right direction.

Whether Viru is done and dusted - well only time will tell. Here is a post made by someone and this guy has similar thoughts to mine. He must go to County cricket the way Gambhir did earlier this year.

He is no more a SC specialist than most overseas openers are SC fails. Its only Hayden and Cook (one series against us) who've done well opening in India. Usual story for overseas openers is 'score 30-40 runs, then get out as soon as spinners come on'. I'd put Viru in the all time great category of openers, his record overseas notwithstanding. Its made to look worse than it is before his disastrous 2011.

IMO Sehwag still can be back because Dhawan hasn't cemented his spot.
But Sehwag has to first want to be back. The way back for him is obvious: Go to England and play county cricket there. He is too good to not score tons in county cricket if he puts in the hard work and if he happens to be 'right there' in England, he will get the callup if one of our openers fails.
IMO, if he still wants it, he has one last hurrah left in him in tests.

And even if Sehwag doesn't play any international game now, he will be remembered as an all time great and as one of the greatest opener ever. He was one batsman who changed the complexion of test cricket in the modern era. Was capable of murdering even the most feared bowling attacks on his day.

For India, he was the best opener in my opinion. Gavaskar was great, no doubt, but the ability of Sehwag to score on SC wickets, an average of more than 54 with a SR of around 90 is absolutely breath-taking. And considering the Indian team would play majority of their games in India, he was one of the most precious batsmen for the nation. My choice for India's all time best opener and undoubtedly one of the greatest Indian batsmen ever.

Sehwag is a great because he scored at 80 runs per 100 balls even in tests. Only Sehwag could make even good attacks look like ordinary like he did in his 319 at Chennai and 293 at Ahmedabad or 201 at Candy.

For me, Sehwag is almost an automatic in any ATG lineups as an opener. Why ? because despite his 'overseas failures', Sehwag offers the unique luxury of 'blink and the score is at 100 for no loss'. he is a high risk, high reward opener, who can be a decisive difference between winning and not winning for the team. Jayasurya had this too, except that Jayasurya was nowhere near as prolific as Sehwag and Jaya did not beat up on some all time great attacks like Sehwag has (albeit at home).
I certainly rate him ahead of the likes of Greenidge, Haynes, Gooch, Kirstien, Smith, Langer, etc. I personally rate him even better than Hayden because Hayden never did much against good bowling attacks anywhere.

It should also be kept in mind that both India and Sri Lanka throw up true dustbowls a lot less often than England preparing a seaming monster or Australia putting a trampoline for a pitch. yes, on those pitches, Sehwag is not going to amount to much. But on pitches that start to have puff of dust come off of every ball by lunch on day1, Kirstien, Smith, etc. do not stand a chance either.

Some interesting stats:

Sehwag: Avg in Asia - 57.39 (18 out of 23 centuries), Avg at home - 54.13, Avg away - 44.65
Sangakkara: Avg in Asia - 62.06 (25 out of 33 centuries), Avg at home - 63.27, Avg away - 47.30
Jayawardene: Avg in Asia - 55.64 (25 out of 31 centuries), Avg at home - 61.12, Avg away - 39.35
Samaraweera: Avg in Asia - 54.11 (11 out of 14 centuries), Avg at home - 53.84, Avg away - 43.31
Younis Khan: Avg in Asia - 55.93 (18 out of 23 centuries), Avg at home - 59.31, Avg away - 50.41, neutral venues - 47.41

Add to this Sehwag's career test Strike Rate 80. Period.

Sehwag may or may not be an ATG. He certainly brought a thrill to many of us thanks to his aggressive batting and penchant for big scores. And he would make it to an Indian All-time Test XI. I'm certainly not trying to knock him down, but it's also important to recognize his limitations.

Sehwag is the best opener in sub continent period he is greater than Gavaskar also in SC .He has his flaws but even with his flaws he is an ATG.

He was a maverick who needed a constant reminder about his importance to the team and also someone to rein him in a bit.He broke the stereotypical English definition of an opener ingrained in our minds.

Batting average is most overrated stat in cricket IMO it hardly portrays true reflection of player's ability.If Cricket had any stat like WARP (Wins Above Replacement player) which gives more accurate info on player and his position in the batting order, Sehwag would be leading it.

Sehwag is an opener who can accentuate a strong middle order but without strong middle order he would be a luxury.Indian middle order rarely showed any spine in overseas.

if any match is played in sub continent , I want Sehwag first then Gavaskar next, Gavaskar scoring was too slow to have any major impact on the match, Sehwag scoring big means he gave bowlers lot of time to take 20 wickets.

Sehwag scored more runs at better pace than Gavaskar in subcontinent in fewer matches.

 

[War]

Ha oh my word talk about your outlandish statements to start 2014: Sehwag a all-time great, Sehwag greater than Gavaskar in the SC, Gavaskar scored way too slow, Sehwag greater than Greenidge, Haynes, Gooch, Kirsten

 

[AbhishekS]

Ha oh my word talk about your outlandish statements to start 2014: Sehwag a all-time great, Sehwag greater than Gavaskar in the SC, Gavaskar scored way too slow, Sehwag greater than Greenidge, Haynes, Gooch, Kirsten

Those are my views and of the people who have been talking about this topic on the other forum.
Obviously there is no such definition for the 'Greatest Batsman' or the 'Greatest Opener' or the 'Greatest Batsman in SC'. Everyone has a different way of defining it, Sehwag fits in the definition of some and doesn't fit in those of the others. It's natural, get over it!

 

[zeustrojanstark]

Sehwag should, will and must comeback. I completely wish and hope that happens, i don't mind who is replaced, be it Vijay or Dhawan or anyone, i just want to see Sehwag back for the 2015 world cup. Viru pa we are with you.

People call Dravid, Sachin, Dada and VVS as Fab 4 but i have always considered it only as Fab 5 with Viru in that elite list.

 

[SaiSrini]

Sehwag is not someone who can be called an "all time great", but he will definitely be in the Top 20 Indian batsmen of all time (probably even Top 15). The impact he created with his batting will always remain in fond memory. On him hinged India's approach towards a result. If Sehwag stays, a win was possible. If Sehwag got out, India invariably shut shop and most often, plunged to defeat (due to such approaches). People said very aggressive players don't naturallly play long innings. But Sehwag defied it, and scored two triple hundreds and quite a few doubles. He was a very surprising success as an opener when no one expected him to.

Only thing is, when he was found out, he couldn't do much to fight it and come out a better player. And he solely relied on hand-eye coordination and that slows with age and he didn't have any other thing to fall back on. With Sachin, his reflexes also slowed down with age, but he adapted to a different style of game more quickly and more easily and thereby stayed at the top far longer (just as an example of two people whose reflexes slowed).

 

[Ohm]

Sehwag is a destroyer. He is one of the best entertainer around the world. Whenever he played huge attacking innings, I just had a reason to salute him. I didn't see such a consistency attacking innings in tests by any other player, not even by Gayle. Scoring a triple century or reaching almost 250+ individually in just a day of test match, isn't a joke. And, he has done that for 3 or more times. He was the player who can control the patience while attacking batting. But it all went down after 2011 world cup. I just could see his talented 219 inning after 2011 world cup. Now I really want that Sehwag back. Hope he will do.

 

[ATMega169P]

Ha oh my word talk about your outlandish statements to start 2014: Sehwag a all-time great, Sehwag greater than Gavaskar in the SC, Gavaskar scored way too slow, Sehwag greater than Greenidge, Haynes, Gooch, Kirsten

Ha oh my word...if Gavaskar, Greenidge, Haynes, Gooch, Kirsten, or even Bradman had as bad of a technique as Sehwag does and were scoring triple hundreds, 200s in ODIs, and scaring the opposition to death by their explosive batting then they would be considered better than Sehwag. Which is NOT the case here. Sehwag has the worst technique in the world and he still manages to create fear in the opposition. Can you name me one team that hasn't said that Sehwag's wicket was their first priority getting into the match??? Sehwag is more than capable of making a comeback but he is just in worst form of his life at the moment. Virender Sehwag is a destroyer who has the capability to DESTROY any team.

 

[Aravind.]

Viru definitely a all time great he scored runs all over the world he destroyed fast bowlers on green tracks all over the world.He added new flavor to test match cricket he is the only person who made multiple triple tons when others have none.Viru = #Respect

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

Sehwag won't come back. The problem with sehwag is that he is a balance of unique mentality and awesome hand-eye co-ordination. as sehwag ages any deficiency in these abilities will be more sorely felt than by those with solid fundamentals. he just can't survive as an old man swinging hard at anything that comes his way.

He is however an all-time great imo. the batting charts of the 2000s are filled with players that made 50 averages and scored loads but none of them could do it with a SR above 80. it is the only bradman-esque stat in batting in the last 20 years. the triple and double hundreds he scored defied delief.

sure it would have been nice if he'd dealt with swing pitches sometimes, maybe he was a flat track bully, but he was the best flat track bully ever.

 

[Lebanna]

Agree that he is definitely a great batsman. But his decline and reason for never coming back as per Stinky's post are most obvious in his return to test team in 2011 where he got a king pair.

It is a shame he wont come back, but India need to look forward rather than backwards and their new crop of young batsman are starting to show they can compete.

 

[surendar]

Ha oh my word talk about your outlandish statements to start 2014: Sehwag a all-time great, Sehwag greater than Gavaskar in the SC, Gavaskar scored way too slow, Sehwag greater than Greenidge, Haynes, Gooch, Kirsten

So have you seen him play or just going by what statsguru says in cricinfo year by year & series by series?

Not meaning that he is greatest of legends and all, but he deserves the respect for what he has done in his career. Respect is different, & calling him as best is different! Former doesn't need any statsguru! I still remember that explosion of 195 runs in Aussies which I still rate that higher than any of his own innings in both test(200s or 300s) & ODI(219) level.