Virender Sehwag has failed in his attempt to pile on the runs for Delhi and the swashbuckling opener is man enough to admit it.
Mail Today – Sun 30 Mar, 2014 11:52 AM IST
Sehwag in action for MCC against Durham.New Delhi: It took a century for MCC against Durham in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for Virender Sehwag to finally come out of an extended run of poor form.
While he is the only Indian batsman to have scored two triple centuries in Tests — with the first one coming exactly 10 years back in Multan against Pakistan — poor scores saw him being dropped from the Indian team.
While discarded India players use the opportunity at the domestic level to press for a comeback into the Indian team, Sehwag has failed in his attempt to pile on the runs for Delhi and the swashbuckling opener is man enough to admit it.
“While it is the selectors’ job to pick players, it is my job to keep scoring runs and I haven’t scored enough runs to justify my return to the national team. But hopefully that will change with the IPL. I have scored a century at the right time and I believe that it shall help me in the IPL,” Sehwag said on the sidelines of a promotional event in the Capital on Saturday.
While he is looking ahead to the IPL, Sehwag didn’t seem too pleased with the fact that George Bailey has been made skipper of the Kings XI Punjab outfit. But he was quick to add that his job has always been to give his best in whatever role is assigned to him.
“KXIP asked me if I wanted to lead the side and I told them that if they had anyone better, they should go with him and assistant coach Sanjay Bangar informed me that they had chosen Bailey to lead the side, but I would also have an important role to play as a senior member of the team. It doesn’t matter to me if I am the captain or not as I like spending time with the youngsters and talking about the game with them,” he said.
Commenting on his own maiden triple century in Multan, Sehwag said that Sachin Tendulkar too deserves credit for helping him focus and play a long innings.
“I celebrate the feat every year, but it always feels good that 10 years have passed since that day in Pakistan. Actually, I myself couldn’t believe that I can score a triple hundred. Also, it was only after I returned to the dressing room that I realised that I was the first one. I always thought that someone like Sunil Gavaskar would have scored it before me. But I also want to thank Tendulkar for guiding me throughout the partnership.” Speaking on the ongoing World T20, he not only backed Yuvraj Singh, but also said that India were favourites to win the trophy.
“We need to give Yuvraj time. The day he fires, the match is in our control. Also, I think we are the favourites, followed by West Indies,” he signed off.
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