Back in 2000, India had a strong batting lineup that included top-tier players such as Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar, and Laxman.
Characters like Sehwag are uncommon in the Indian cricketing ecosystem, since he never had a filter in his mind when it came to playing bold shots or speaking fearlessly.
Recently, Aakash Chopra appeared on The Ranveer Show, where he discussed Sehwag and mentioned an incident involving Dada (Sourav Ganguly), to which he responded, “Sehwag has no filter and would always speak his thoughts. I recall a day when Dada was captain and he wasn’t scoring runs “.
“He even told Dada, You need to score runs now as you will get dropped so play cautiously”.
He added that “Even Dada and other seniors didn’t feel bad as Sehwag didn’t have a filter and everyone in the dressing room was pretty relaxed about it”
Chopra remarked, “Sehwag had a gold heart and always gave back in style.”
Sehwag made his debut for India in 1999, was dropped after a few days, and returned in 2001. He was a key player for the Men in Blue in the successive world cups in 2003, 2007, and 2011.
He was spectacular in the opening few matches of the 2011 World Cup, scoring a century against Bangladesh and forming courageous partnerships with other batters to ensure that the Men in Blue crossed the line on most occasions.
India went on to win the 2011 World Cup, which is an uncommon occurrence.
We’ve seen Sehwag speak his mind on multiple occasions, whether it’s in response to Shoaib Akhtar’s remark that “he praises India for money.”
Sehwag also had an open conversation with John Wright. “There was one time when John Wright didn’t speak to him kindly, and he replied, ‘You’re not talking to me correctly because I’m not a top-tier player like Sachin? If this continues, I will file a complaint with the BCCI.
Sehwag was a great advocate for India, performing miracles when it counted the most.