Thinking of happy moments, I would depart to a different territory altogether. To unite whole of India into making that collective encore is indeed a difficult task, but we had again found a man to do this last Thursday. Those who have been privy to my intentions about this man would have guessed what I mean. I have already devoted my time to write on him in the past and it doesn't hurt me even a bit to do that again.
Virender Sehwag did it again! And in what style? Nepolean was notorious for having been known for not having a word like "impossible" in his dictionary. The world has advanced a lot since his times, and Viru has deliberately left a few words out of his dictionary. And those of the like fear, remorse and normal never intend to return! A man is known by his deeds. But Sehwag is known for what he doesn't do! Least respect for the spinners, utter contempt for fast bowlers, not bothering for reputation and the ilk - very tough for the lesser mortals to even think or visualize. This write-up vindicates the confidence shown in him by this cricket crazy nation and my opinion about him which has never dwindled even when he was going through a rough phase in his life. He is knocking at the doors of the conglomeration of records which in all possibility will be owned by him by the time he retires. He is knocking at the doors of greatness, an enchanting spell which will be cast upon the lovers of this game, a whiff of fresh air for the asphyxiated protectors of the 5 day game and for the pure connoisseurs, who will skip a breath or two when they sit down to taste vintage Sehwag. As a certain "bradmanesque" goes for the Don, we have already displayed our wits by approbating the appellation "Seh-whack" on him. To even get to know that you have managed to let yourself be spoken in the same breadth as the Don himself should be a graduation in itself. And the list of laurels doesn't end at this. The swagger which I have spoken about in one of my paeans for him has already been in the news now with him being compared to the great Sir Vivian Richards.
So, as an average Indian, does it satiate me to see all these laurels coming his way? The answer is a simple and plain - "NO". I won't be satisfied if he is labelled as someone who could rise up the rungs only to occupy a seat next to Sir DON or Sir Vivian. I may sound a bit presumptuous, but that's not what "Seh-whack" is capable of achieving. He is on the cusp of being the greatest entertainer the world has ever seen, a player who can still pull in the masses to see the players go through the motions and more importantly, a player who is unimaginable! We have already seen a Don. We have already seen a GOD. But we want to see something which has never been there before, who can outsmart our unending desire for a greater icon, one who can make us think, as to what to call a player of his caliber. That's when Sehwag would have done justice to himself and to this starry-eyed cricket fraternity which always keeps looking for the ONE who can help this game sustain a bit longer, long enough to last our lifetime and be a source of mirth hard to find even in the remotest corners of this universe.
My wish-list:
4 triple centuries, 1 score of around 400, a double hundred in ODIs...and the list goes on. It's really a pain to be a cricketer in India, with even reasonable fans like me falling for the "I-need-more" syndrome.
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