Virender Sehwag, who redefined the craft of opening Test innings in his inimitable style and Zaheer Khan, one of India’s most successful fast bowlers, recently announced their retirement from international cricket. This brings down curtains on two remarkable careers that began around the same time (Zaheer in 2000 and Sehwag in 2001), flourished in the next ten years and culminated rather unceremoniously. The duo – both 37-year-olds – were out of Team India for over a year and couldn’t get to play their swansongs to sign off in style.
Sehwag’s unconventional, aggressive batting style made him the spectators’ delight. There was never a dull moment when he was batting. A hard-hitter of the ball, runs would come in torrents off his bat, enabling him to etch his name on many a record. Sehwag’s ability to hit the ball was so spectacular that he was often compared with the great Viv Richards. Sehwag is the only Indian to score a triple century – and he did it twice! His triple century (319 against South Africa) is also the fastest in Test history – 300 off only 278 balls! He is one of only two players to score a double hundred in ODI and a triple hundred in Tests, the other being Chris Gayle, the West Indies opener.
Sehwag was also known for his fearless, uncluttered batting approach, showing complete disregard for the bowler or sometimes even the match situation. After all, how many batsmen would step out and hit a six when batting on 294!
Zaheer Khan made his debut in 2000 against New Zealand and quickly cemented his position in the team. He spearheaded India’s pace attack through some of its greatest moments, including the dream run in the 2011 World Cup. Zaheer was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 21 wickets.
Zaheer’s career was interrupted several times by injuries. But he kept mending his body and remodelling his action, making a stronger comeback each time. A left-arm pacer, Zaheer was feared for his uncanny ability to reverse swing the old ball. In a career spanning 92 Test matches and 200 ODIs, Zaheer Khan picked 311 and 282 wickets, respectively. As an India fast bowler, he is the second highest wicket-taker after the legendary Kapil Dev.