Virendra Sehwag

पराक्रमो विजयते- The courageous always win.

I have been a Sachin fan all my life. But there was a brief period when I liked a certain cricketer as much as Sachin. The most spectacular thing about that cricketer was that he always lived in the extremes. If it was his day, he would demolish anyone and everyone, but if it wasn't, he could get out to a part timer. He was showered with praises one day and was castigated by the whole country on the other. Being a Sehwag fan was never easy. It is still not easy defending his exploits on the social media and in commentary box. But what the hell, he is my childhood hero, who played the way every Indian wanted every cricketer to play, but never wanted them to get out the way he used to get out, most of the times.

Ian Chappell once said in an interview that he has never seen a cricketer as unabashed and belligerent as Sehwag. He was a fan of his audacity. That is high praise coming from a man, who was not even impressed by the Great Donald Bradman. I totally agree with Ian. Sehwag was a unique cricketer who never gave a damn about what the experts or the fans thought about his style of playing. He just kept on with his merry ways and it paid dividends.

To be brutally honest, I used to find test matches soporiphic in the 1990s. I used to just check scores sporadically and used to get a glance of the last session. Last session of the day always fascinated me, because I feel that is the only time the bowlers have their noses in front. This is the reason Sehwag's 80+ against England while chasing 360+ is one of my favourite test innings because it was scored in the last session and it was carnage. He literally murdered Graeme Swann and changed the mood of the dressing room who were planning for a draw. This is what Viru did all his life, changed the perception of the cricket fans and Pundits, as to anything is possible.

So, yes, Viru was the reason why my interest in test matches spiked and what a daredevil he was. You have to be demented to go for a six when you are on 295, but he already gave Sachin his word that if Saqlain bowls that over, he will go for it and he did, inspite of Sachin advising otherwise. This is Viru for you. He even went against GOD. He tried the same during his 293 against Murali and failed. Everybody applauded the former incident and castigated the other. He was the hero and the villain, but he never cared and he still doesn't. There was Sir Viv who defined non-chalance once and Viru took it to another level.

I can never thank him enough for the memories and the goosebumps he gave me throughout his career. He was, is and will always be a CHAMPION.

Happy Birthday Viru! You are awwwwwwesome.