Fifteen or so years after he sauntered into cricket's centre-stage, Virender Sehwag has announced his retirement. Sehwag, who just turned 37, last played for the national team two years ago; but only four years ago, he seemed to be at the peak of his powers, hitting only the second double century in one-day international cricket, against the West Indies. Perhaps this is not that surprising; Sehwag's genius as a batsman always depended crucially on perfect hand-eye co-ordination than on sensible technique or footwork. That was perhaps what led him to stand out most of all even when he was in one of the greatest batting line-ups of all time: Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly. Surrounded by players in that team stocked with restrained, well-read, wristy stroke-makers, Sehwag brought some of the cheery Najafgarh brashness out to the middle, and spectators loved him for it. Tendulkar slowed down cautiously when he got to the nineties; Sehwag would go for a six even if he was at 291. Dravid would immerse himself in the history of the game; Sehwag would proudly declare he had no idea who Vinoo Mankad was. Laxman could gently help any ball along to whichever boundary the ball itself seemed to want to go; Sehwag would brutally whack every ball towards the boundary he wanted it to go to.
In his retirement note, Sehwag gently acknowledges his uniqueness: "I also want to thank everyone for all the cricketing advice given to me over the years and I apologise for not accepting most of it! I had a reason for not following it; I did it my way!" Many peers and coaches may have tried to correct his stance, make his feet move, and so on; but, as with other unorthodox greats like Inzamam-ul-Haq, in the end Sehwag's numbers had to speak for themselves. And, also, the time he seemed to have to play his shots - the moment of stillness, watching the ball, before he seemed to explode into action. Many thought that he was one of that fast-disappearing breed, the "one-day specialist", who had neither the temperament nor the ability for the longer game. Sehwag's brilliant Test career has done more than any others' to lay the very idea of the one-day specialist to rest. Beyond a certain point, the argument became untenable - especially when Sehwag began to score double and triple centuries in Test cricket with inimitable ease. Even when the rest of the team struggled - such as in his double century in Galle or in his match-saving second-innings 151 at Adelaide - Sehwag's determination and instincts kept him afloat. And, that, surely, is the mark of a Test player. Even if he was one of the first batsmen to start scoring in Tests at one-day speeds - he still retains the record for the most Test runs scored in a day since 1933. In the list of top ten records for most Test runs scored in a day, Sehwag figures thrice, as many times as Don Bradman.
Sehwag's retirement means the end of a glorious chapter of Indian cricket history. While Ganguly, Laxman, Kumble and Dravid were no longer around to share in the 2011 World Cup victory, that is surely the culmination of the India team that they built. Sachin Tendulkar was, of course, still around - but the team of 2011 was more Sehwag than Tendulkar, truly, in its casual determination and reliance on instinct. Last week saw the retirement of not just Sehwag, a major part of that 2011 victory, but also Zaheer Khan, who took 21 wickets in that tournament and led India's attack. Both Khan (who also turned 37 a couple of weeks ago and had taken 311 Test wickets) and Sehwag were Wisden cricketers of the year in 2008. Many of Sehwag's records may well be broken in the coming years, since many of them depended on blazing speed. His successors in world cricket - taking their cue from him, but also from such other shot-makers as Adam Gilchrist - will set their sights on them; Rohit Sharma has already taken the record for the highest one-day score. But the cricketing world they live in is the one shaped by Sehwag, with his insistence on doing things "his way".
