Any sport has to have some basics and some instincts that go along with the basics of the game. And these are unique for a particular game. Batting in Cricket needs different set of technique than batting in Baseball. Skills needed in Tennis is different from those needed in Badminton. Hockey on an artificial green turf is different from Ice Hockey, although the skill set is fairly the same. Even within a game, different players have different style and they are all effective. But you still need the basic technique upon which you will inculcate your own style of play.
Take Batting in Cricket for instance. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid are legends of the game. They have both been successful in their game. Yet they have different styles. Sachin Tendulkar is relatively more charismatic while batting and is a treat to watch when in full flow. Rahul Dravid relies relatively more on technique and is a live example of how to bat in a manner desired of a batsman. You may have a different perspective, but I believe both these legends are at the same level in terms of success. One is not greater than the other. However, I am sure you will agree with me when I say both these players had their roots in technique and developed a niche for themselves.
Every once in a while comes a player who deviates from the routine and relies completely on a different set of skills and still succeeds. A player who has his own basics to follow, his own techniques yet highly effective. Indian Cricket had one such player. And his batting was like eye-candy especially for those who are more goal-oriented than the journey one takes to achieve the goal.
I am talking about none other than Virender Sehwag.
He completely defied the most basic tenet of batting - footwork! Instead, he trusted his eye, his hand and his confidence on the pitch. And he succeeded. He made a name for himself even when Indian Cricket had other batting stalwarts who were breaking records with ease. It's easy to be a top player when you are surrounded by average ones, but Sehwag made it count when he was playing with Sachin, Saurav, Rahul and VVS. Sachin had charisma, Saurav flamboyant, Rahul with his rock-solid technique and VVS with style. Among them came Sehwag who simply went after the bowling with little to no respect for the bowlers (on the pitch, that is).
I have seen the best of Indian cricket play together - Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath etc. The current crop is exciting, no doubt but they have time to attain legendary status in Indian Cricket. With Sehwag retiring, that 2000's era is now well and truly over.
If you want to bat the "Virender Sehwag" way, mug up the following steps -
- Completely trust you hand-eye co-ordination
- Do NOT look at the scorecard. Scoreboards contain some numbers pertaining to the game. There are other team members who will do the math
- Let your instincts talk on the pitch
- That's it! No kidding, that's seriously how simple it is to learn about Sehwag. The only challenge is to effectively utilize them on the pitch.
The Nawab of Najafgarh has stepped down. All hail the Nawab!
