NEW DELHI: Virender Sehwag has been under the weather with his fitness but he is as cavalier about it as his batting on the pitch. Sehwag was rested for the Asia Cup to recover from 'back spasms' on the advice of the team physio. The Delhi opener made the 'rest' period sound like a forced vacation from which he was happy to come out of.
"The rest period as instructed to me has come to an end. I can get back to training now and I am confident of being fit and prepared for the IPL," Sehwag said at the launch of the Delhi Daredevils' Hindi website.
Viru's sense of humour and forthrightness are some things which haven't taken a beating in spite of the talk of differences between him and Indian skipper MS Dhoni. The swashbuckling opener didn't mince his words claiming that it's unfair to put an expiry date on a sportsperson.
Speaking about the ideal time for a cricketer to retire with Rahul Dravid stepping away from international cricket, Sehwag said, "Sports is not like a government job. You can't be forced to retire at the age of 60 and then go on to work at a private firm till you are 70 or 75! As long as you are fit and performing on the field, age is not a factor. Look at Sanath Jayasuriya he played on till the age of 42."
The 33-year-old holds a grouse that he couldn't be part of long-term opening partner Sachin Tendulkar's historic moment in Bangladesh. "Of course, I miss being part of the Indian dressing room. The 100th century is a rare moment in any cricketer's life and I would have loved to be part of the celebration," he said.
Sehwag though wasn't concerned about the dip in form of the Indian team. "Every team goes through ups and downs - Australia and England both have been through that. All teams try and utilize the home conditions to their advantage. I don't think India played badly in Asia Cup, we managed to beat both Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Bangladesh though can upset any team on their day," Sehwag, who had branded Bangladesh as an 'ordinary team' a few years back, said.
Coming to the Daredevils, the skipper was happy with the composition of the side. "I was constantly in touch with TA Sekar (team mentor) when players were picked for the side. It's great we have managed to add Kevin Pietersen, Mahela Jayawardene and Ross Taylor to the team. However, the first couple of matches will be important for the side as these players will be missing due to international commitments," the Daredevils captain said.
Post-IPL auction the Daredevils have come out stronger in the batting department but look thin on the bowling front especially when it comes to spin bowling. Sehwag wasn't a concerned man though, saying, "We have two very promising pacers in Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav while Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar are experienced campaigners. The foreigners in the batting front will be balanced out by the Indian fast bowling talent."
Team mentor Sekar rued about the dearth of quality spinners in the country. "There are hardly any quality spinners in India at the moment and add to that we have nine IPL teams. I can't expect Vijay Mallya to hand over someone like Daniel Vettori to me. However, we have experienced T20 campaigner like Roelof van der Merwe and guys like Shahbaz Nadeem and Pawan Negi can be effective performers. Viru was happy about his bowling in Australia, so he will also be expected to play a bigger role," Sekar told TOI.
"The rest period as instructed to me has come to an end. I can get back to training now and I am confident of being fit and prepared for the IPL," Sehwag said at the launch of the Delhi Daredevils' Hindi website.
Viru's sense of humour and forthrightness are some things which haven't taken a beating in spite of the talk of differences between him and Indian skipper MS Dhoni. The swashbuckling opener didn't mince his words claiming that it's unfair to put an expiry date on a sportsperson.
Speaking about the ideal time for a cricketer to retire with Rahul Dravid stepping away from international cricket, Sehwag said, "Sports is not like a government job. You can't be forced to retire at the age of 60 and then go on to work at a private firm till you are 70 or 75! As long as you are fit and performing on the field, age is not a factor. Look at Sanath Jayasuriya he played on till the age of 42."
The 33-year-old holds a grouse that he couldn't be part of long-term opening partner Sachin Tendulkar's historic moment in Bangladesh. "Of course, I miss being part of the Indian dressing room. The 100th century is a rare moment in any cricketer's life and I would have loved to be part of the celebration," he said.
Sehwag though wasn't concerned about the dip in form of the Indian team. "Every team goes through ups and downs - Australia and England both have been through that. All teams try and utilize the home conditions to their advantage. I don't think India played badly in Asia Cup, we managed to beat both Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Bangladesh though can upset any team on their day," Sehwag, who had branded Bangladesh as an 'ordinary team' a few years back, said.
Coming to the Daredevils, the skipper was happy with the composition of the side. "I was constantly in touch with TA Sekar (team mentor) when players were picked for the side. It's great we have managed to add Kevin Pietersen, Mahela Jayawardene and Ross Taylor to the team. However, the first couple of matches will be important for the side as these players will be missing due to international commitments," the Daredevils captain said.
Post-IPL auction the Daredevils have come out stronger in the batting department but look thin on the bowling front especially when it comes to spin bowling. Sehwag wasn't a concerned man though, saying, "We have two very promising pacers in Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav while Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar are experienced campaigners. The foreigners in the batting front will be balanced out by the Indian fast bowling talent."
Team mentor Sekar rued about the dearth of quality spinners in the country. "There are hardly any quality spinners in India at the moment and add to that we have nine IPL teams. I can't expect Vijay Mallya to hand over someone like Daniel Vettori to me. However, we have experienced T20 campaigner like Roelof van der Merwe and guys like Shahbaz Nadeem and Pawan Negi can be effective performers. Viru was happy about his bowling in Australia, so he will also be expected to play a bigger role," Sekar told TOI.
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