Former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has heaped praises on Virender Sehwag for injecting the attacking style of batsmanship in the Indian cricketing horizon. Sehwag always played his cricket in his own fashion and changed the way of opening in Test cricket.

Many criticized Sehwag for his aggressive and rash style of batting but it brought him a lot of success. He became the first Indian to score a triple-ton in Test cricket by playing his own way. Also, he ended his Test career with a strike rate of 82.2 and 104.3 in One-Day Internationals.

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Saqlain feels Sehwag paved the way for the heights that Indian cricket has reached today.

“Keep in mind that the impact Virender Sehwag had on the world, the style in which he played, the brand of cricket he played, a lot of players from India benefitted from it. The manner of batting he showed the world, changed Indian cricket’s mindset and that of its cricketers,” Saqlain said on his YouTube channel.

Speaking on the comparison between Sehwag and Rohit Sharma, Saqlain Mushtaq opined despite Rohit’s stats being better, it was Sehwag who showcased the way batting can be approached. He also mentioned that only a few players had played that way before Sehwag took the cricketing world by storm and Sir Vivian Richard is being one of them.

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“Sehwag lifted the bar and showed the way with his self-belief. Sehwag scored a double century in ODIs so players believed it could happen, like Rohit Sharma. In fact, Rohit must have learnt a lot watching Sehwag bat,” Saqlain Mushtaq added.

“Rohit’s stats may look prettier than Sehwag but Viru he had a role behind it. He played for himself, the country and hanged the thinking of the players that came after him. Before him, only 1-2 players like Sir Viv who used to play that brand of cricket in ODIs and ruled over the world, and Zaheer Abbas. They ruled the world and similarly, Sehwag also dominated world cricket.”