Sehwag announces retirement

[puneet28]

He hasn't retired officially yet. He just hinted about it because he will be taking part in Masters Champions League in January 2016.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/930673.html

 

[Mosher]

Brilliant article on Viru by Jarrod. http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/930743.html

 

[puneet28]

There will be batsmen who would like to play attacking game, who will score fast, no one could match up to fearless Sehwag
Other than famous triple and double hundreds, 83 in Chennai against England to set tone for chase of 387, 195 in Melbourne and 150 in Adelaide, 201* in Galle and lots of good starts setting tempo for other batsmen, destroying line and length of front line bowlers of opposition likewise Umar Gul in Mohali CWC 2011 - This guys was truly a beast in Indian Cricket Team.
Deserved retirement from ground - Yet Hats off to Virendra Sehwag.

 

[zakk]

Thanks Viru 

 

 

[sscomp32]

Its official now guys.  

[adi B]

Is he retiring? Sure? 

Anyway my favorite batsman and one of those players I'd pay to watch.I remember during early 2000s I used to bunk school or take a day off just to watch viru bat in the first day of a home test match.what an absolute entertainer and an ATG batsman!! 

[sscomp32]

Yes. Read the last line of his statement 

Classic Viru.  

[adi B]

Viru's favourite punching bags were pak,srl and saf in tests and nzl,Windies in odis.

No batsmen has demoralized a saf bowling unit as much as sehwag did at home lol I think he scored 4 big tons against saf at home in 7 tests ,blasted them away in kanpur 2004,Chennai 2008 and kolkata in 2010

[sscomp32]

[Austin 3:!6]

Too sad to even write a comment

Atleast used to see him bat in IPL...now even that pleasure is denied

[diga]

Shewag quoting Mark Twain

 

Anyway happy retirement to one of our greatest match winners

[Gollum]

Greatest entertainer since I started following the game. Most of my happiest memories related to cricket involved Sehwag thunderstorms.

[maniac]

"Yeh bowling kar raha hai ya bheekh maang raha hai? [Is he bowling or begging?]"
To Pakistan close-in fielders after Shoaib Akhtar's continuous sledging, asking Sehwag to hook. Even Shoaib's team-mates couldn't keep from laughing. Multan, 2003-04

 

  :hail:

"Yeh bowling kar raha hai ya bheekh maang raha hai? [Is he bowling or begging?]"
To Pakistan close-in fielders after Shoaib Akhtar's continuous sledging, asking Sehwag to hook. Even Shoaib's team-mates couldn't keep from laughing. Multan, 2003-04

 

  

[nevada]

One of a kind, one of the biggest entertainers and a legend of the game. Shrugged aside his limitations and backed himself to succeed against all opposition. His retirement announcement is a mere formality but still makes one sad to realize that his career has come to a full stop. The last few years of his career sucked but given his style of play, no one would have thought that he would do so well for so long either.

[Trundler27]

My hats off to Virender Sehwag!! He was truly and unequivocally a legend batsman and in my opinion one of the all time great cricketers. While Sachin was feared and respected by all opponents, Sehwag was actually dreaded. He was a revolutionary batter if there ever was one! How many times has he simply smashed the very first ball of an important game for a boundary to send our pulses soaring.

Thank you for all the great memories Sehwag and wish you luck with your future endeavors. I hope to see at least one more such batter representing India during my lifetime because that is how rare such batters are!

[Sonix768]

A true modern era Great.. Thanks Viru for all the entertainment..!

[zen]

A legend. If there is or was a meaningful record in Indian cricket, he probably has it or had it. 

Tests: 2 triples (almost 3 if not for the fascination of getting to the milestones with a six), that double in SL which won Ind the game, big 100s in Aus, swashbuckling 100 in SA, amazing combination of Avg and SR, 80+ vs. Eng in the 4th innings that made Ind chase an improbable target vs. Eng, 400+ runs opening partnership, and Bradmanisque record against arch rivals Pak. What more can we ask as fans. 

ODIs: Avg'ed in high 40s when Ind was on a roll in ODIs winning many games (career avg was lower as he probably wanted to out do himself in ODIs), that double against WI, 175 vs BD which lighted Ind's world cup campaign (similar to Kapil's 175), .... 

Great career! Wishing Sehwag all the best for his future endeavors. 

Edited October 20, 2015 by rett

[gattaca]

Great Career. Wish we had some like him as an opener now who score at that rate.

[sage]

I think India are the only team ever to drop a batsman averaging 50

[Ram]

If ever there was an Indian cricketer that deserved a tribute, its this guy

To truly understand the joy and impact Sehwag, you need to have lived through the pain and suffering of an Indian cricket fan through the 90s. You need to have watched Andrew Hudson single handedly outscore the Indian team in Durban, as we were bowled out for 66 and 100. You need to have watched the India team whitewashed 0-3 by of all team, effin England in ‘96. You need to have watched us surrender 0-3 to Australia in ‘99. You need to have watched us collapse to 81 all out in Barbados, chasing 120 for a series win. You want to know how Indian cricket was perceived then? The above results should you tell you all that you need to know

Then, something happened in 2001. Something new, something very strange.  Virender Sehwag made his international debut and almost instantaneously, Indian cricket made a directional change for the better. For the first time in my life as an Indian cricket fan, I saw him do things that I had seen no other Indian cricketer – not even Sachin – do before. He smashed South Africa for a stunning 100 on debut on a pitch that offered plenty for the bowlers. Indian batsmen weren’t supposed to do that, especially a rookie on debut?! For the first time ever in the history of Indian cricket, an Indian batsman faced up to 90+ mph bowling and looked like he couldn’t care less, unlike all of his predecessors, who just seemed happy to not be dismissed. Sehwag not just survived, he thrived. Just compare India’s record against Pakistan before and after he made his debut. I don’t want to belabor this point – but no one was supposed to destroy Shoaib Akhtar for a triple 100, that too in Pakistan.. No one was supposed to end Saqlain Mushtaq’s career, who for the record, took 4 five 5 wickets in the previous 2 test series against India. No one was supposed to smash Dale bleeping Steyn for Morne Mokel for a near triple 100 in a single day in Chennai…!  And lo and behold – the rest of the batsmen took queues from him. Our bowling attack finally got some muscle before you knew – we were no.1 in world cricket in 2008

My point is – this guy did things no one did before and he changed Indian cricket forever.  Sachin made Indian cricket famous, Kumble gave us a fighting chance at home, but Sehwag – he changed our culture.. He gave us a culture of winning abroad, for the first time in the history of Indian cricket. And for that reason alone, he should go down as one of the all-time Indian cricket greats. If you didn’t watch him destroy attacks like he did in his prime, you have truly missed something magical.

Thank you Viru! 

Edited October 20, 2015 by Ram