JOIN USAfter picking up the Test batting prize at the ESPNCricinfo awards 2009 here on Friday evening, Sehwag again made it clear that he would prefer batting in the middle-order, at number four once Sachin Tendulkar retired. Tendulkar himself won the one-day prize for his valiant 175 against Australia in a losing cause.
“I want to bat at number four. But till he (Tendulkar) retires, I don’t think I will get a chance. I am just waiting for him to retire,” Sehwag, who won the award for his 293 against Sri Lanka last December in Mumbai, said with a smile. “When he does retire, I would immediately want to bat at number four. It is easy for me to say this, but whoever is leading the team will first consider where he can make maximum use of Virender Sehwag’s batting -- as an opener or in the middle order. It is up to the captain to decide whether Sehwag will open or not.
“Maybe I would have scored more runs in the middle-order. Even today, I would love to bat in the middle-order because it is difficult to field for one and a half days and then open the innings after a ten-minute break. I also want to bat at number six like Dhoni so I can also get two hours to rest. That way, even my back would be fine and my exhaustion would go away too, which would help me score more runs and play bigger innings.”
Sehwag said he didn’t believe in looking at a pitch before a game. “I have never seen the wicket in my life before a Test or one-dayer. If I see it, I say to myself this is a flat track and I have to start scoring from the first ball. Or I might think the whole night that it is a seaming track, my tactics have to be good and my feet should move, only then I will survive. It is rubbish for me, I have never seen wickets,” he observed.
Award winners: Test batting: Virender Sehwag (Ind), 293 vs Sri Lanka, CCI (Mumbai).
Test bowling: Jerome Taylor (WI), 5/11 vs England, Kingston. One-day batting: Sachin Tendulkar (Ind), 175 vs Australia, Hyderabad. One-day bowling: Shahid Afridi (Pak) 6/38 vs Australia, Dubai.
T20 batting: Chris Gayle (WI), 88 off 50 balls vs Australia, The Oval.
T20 bowling: Umar Gul (Pak), 5/6 vs New Zealand, The Oval.