Virender Sehwag was as fearsome an opener one could think of. He straight batted bowlers both pacers and spinners alike. He kept a simple frame of mind to see and hit the ball. His approach earned him a lot of praise too as he seemed unique. There was certainly a method to his madness when he went blitzkrieg against oppositions. His outlook towards the game remained the same post-retirement too.
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When Sehwag took down an English journalist for taking a swipe against India
Let us rewind 4 years in 2016 when Virender Sehwag took down English journalist Piers Morgan. When Mr. Morgan had commented that India boosting of a billion population celebrates wildly having won just 2 Olympic medals. Sehwag fittingly replied saying that Indians know how to celebrate smaller joys of life. And he took a dig at England’s inability then to win a cricket World Cup. People immediately took to this version of Sehwag. An ex-cricketer who wouldn’t mind being candid compared to being a diplomat. His personality was frank, forthright, and fresh. But then something changed.
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Why did Virender Sehwag change his approach?
Sehwag, who by then, had become a famous cricket expert known for his one-liners started taking things a bit too far. There were reports of him rubbing his ex-captain Sourav Ganguly the wrong way with this cheeky taunt. But sadly this wasn’t an exception, it became a norm.
In a self-centered series called “Viru Ki Baithak”, Sehwag indulges in unfunny one-liners, takes potshots at contemporary and former players. His humor is often distasteful and spiteful even. It seems strange coming from a man of Sehwag’s class to resort to such antics.
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Sehwag taking a jibe at Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell
During the 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020), Sehwag referred to Rohit Sharma as “Vada Pav”. While he went on to call Sharma’s Mumbai Indians teammate Saurabh Tiwary as “Samosa Pav”. An Indian commentator openly body-shaming athletes was a new low in Indian sports journalism.
Sehwag didn’t just stop there. He even called his ex Kings XI Punjab teammate Glenn Maxwell a “10 crore cheerleader”. Maxwell immediately retorted that Sehwag isn’t someone who needs to be taken seriously and showed him his place.
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Future of sports commentary and journalism?
With plenty of Indian players jumping to the commentating bandwagon, it is really hard to distinguish the best from the rest. An expert has all the right to criticize a player’s performance but his personal space should never be breached. Sehwag much like Arnab tends to do so and presents a character certificate. But credit to Arnab that he doesn’t rehearse the venom he lets out, Sehwag, unfortunately, seems to have been doing just that.
