Superb tribute to Veeru by Wisden editor.

[Ram]

Before Sehwag, Indian cricket, apart from a few exceptions, was used to only having characters like Sanjay Manjrekar. Cricketers who were meek, lacked any sort of aggression or the will, courage and confidence to look at the opposition in their eye and take them on without fear. We were incapable of even winning a spoon and melon race abroad because we lacked to mettle to keep going, when the going got tough. But Veeru showed the fans and more importantly the cricketers that we can also be take the bull by the horns and be good at it. Such an attitude can have a transformational effect on the players. Keeping all this in mind, it was such a pity that he was left in the wilderness through parts of 2006 and 2007, dropped from the test team. He so deserved to be in the eleven that won against England in England.

[Guest gaurav_indian]

Before Sehwag, Indian cricket, apart from a few exceptions, was used to only having characters like Sanjay Manjrekar. Cricketers who were meek, lacked any sort of aggression or the will, courage and confidence to look at the opposition in their eye and take them on without fear. We were incapable of even winning a spoon and melon race abroad because we lacked to mettle to keep going, when the going got tough. But Veeru showed the fans and more importantly the cricketers that we can also be take the bull by the horns and be good at it. Such an attitude can have a transformational effect on the players. Keeping all this in mind, it was such a pity that he was left in the wilderness through parts of 2006 and 2007, dropped from the test team. He so deserved to be in the eleven that won against England in England.

It was Saurav Ganguly's captaincy that brought aggression in guys like Yuvi, Zaheer and Viru. :winky:

[Ram]

It was Saurav Ganguly's captaincy that brought aggression in guys like Yuvi' date=' Zaheer and Viru. :winky:[/quote'] Agreed, Saurav was the one who introduced the firebrand, in-your-face sorta daring captaincy, but Sehwag was one of the first guys who translated that into real action on the field. Sehwag’s contribution to Indian cricket goes much mere number of runs he has scored or the incredible triple tons he managed to notch up. Its about introducing a brand of cricket that opposition teams never previously encountered from an Indian team. I couldn’t stress enough on this point.

[patriot]

I hear you Marirs -- we all know that. The audacity to achieve ANYTHING..embodies Viru. We just have to go back to that Chennai test against England. Before that point we had NEVER scored 220+ to win a test at home. Pre Veeru , openers would have shown some resistance and then collpased for a small score, then our famed middle order would have closed the shutters playing for a meek draw . Not with Viru chasing a world record 387 on a fifth day against a very competent England attack...he blasted 87 of 60 odd balls winning us the match..insanely talented..insanely audacious. Some one was questioning Viru's genius - Well Mr Lord -Viru strike rate in test cricket is about 80- higher than what some truely great players have in ODIS and many moons above what your hero has in tests. If that does'nt sound genius, than you should perhaps switch to following some other sport.

[Gambit]

Veeru is an utter legend. Compared to Veeru, Hayden is Dinesh Gandhi. The only opener today that I'd put on the same pedestal as Veeru is Graeme Smith.

[Holysmoke]

If Sehwag had started playing before Sachin' date=' I am a 100% sure that he would have become my all-time most favorite player. [/quote'] "Agar maine cricket seekhi hai, ya khelna shuru kiya hai, toh woh sirf Unke vajay se. " - Sehwag on Sachin.

[Lord]

Agreed, Saurav was the one who introduced the firebrand, in-your-face sorta daring captaincy, but Sehwag was one of the first guys who translated that into real action on the field. Sehwag’s contribution to Indian cricket goes much mere number of runs he has scored or the incredible triple tons he managed to notch up. Its about introducing a brand of cricket that opposition teams never previously encountered from an Indian team. I couldn’t stress enough on this point.

so true,Sehwag,along with Bhajji,Zak,Dada,Yuvi(in ODIs) has changed the way India plays cricket.it is because of these guys that world fears us

I hear you Marirs -- we all know that. The audacity to achieve ANYTHING..embodies Viru. We just have to go back to that Chennai test against England. Before that point we had NEVER scored 220+ to win a test at home. Pre Veeru ' date=' openers would have shown some resistance and then collpased for a small score, then our famed middle order would have closed the shutters playing for a meek draw . Not with Viru chasing a world record 387 on a fifth day against a very competent England attack...he blasted 87 of 60 odd balls winning us the match..insanely talented..insanely audacious.[/quote'] that is a great thing about him.hes so positive.as Shastri said'there is not a single negative bone in his body. he is just so fearless,uncluttered n a maverick batsman but dont forget the contribution of SRT in that game.Sehwag didnt win the game on his own..he started the chase very well n made us go for a win.but wen he left there were still 270 runs to be scored.SRT won the game by staying till the end

Some one was questioning Viru's genius - Well Mr Lord -Viru strike rate in test cricket is about 80- higher than what some truely great players have in ODIS and many moons above what your hero has in tests. If that does'nt sound genius, than you should perhaps switch to following some other sport.

no,i DID NOT question his ability or greatness.as i said he is awesome n one of my favourite,a true legend.but i still refuse to call him a genius.u see cricket thru stats only.Adam Gilchrist averages 48 with a better S/R than Veeru,so he must also be a genius,no? as i said,flatter n bowlers are inferior.still SRT averages 4 runs per match more than Veeru after playing 90 more test matches than him.and lets not compare thier ODI careers.a 'genius' doesnt averages 34 in ODIs n before advising me to watch some other sport,perhaps u should start watching cricket n not just follow it on cricinfo n statsguru

[goose]

Aggression, audacity, etc are all relative terms. These things must be measured in the context of what other batsmen are doing at the time. The passage of time, and closing chapters of Tendulkar's career have eroded his true legacy. Make no mistake, Tendulkar had that same jaw-dropping impact in the 90s that we attribute to Sehwag today.

[Ram]

Aggression' date=' audacity, etc are all relative terms. These things must be measured in the context of what other batsmen are doing at the time. [b']The passage of time, and closing chapters of Tendulkar's career have eroded his true legacy. Make no mistake, Tendulkar had that same jaw-dropping impact in the 90s that we attribute to Sehwag today.

Quite to the contrary. The passage of time has actually enhanced his legacy. Sachin may not have the same aura that was previously associated to his batting, but to say his legacy is eroding with time is a grossly inaccurate statement.

[Ram]

"Agar maine cricket seekhi hai' date=' ya khelna shuru kiya hai, toh woh sirf Unke vajay se. " - Sehwag on Sachin.[/quote'] :D

[goose]

Quite to the contrary. The passage of time has actually enhanced his legacy. Sachin may not have the same aura that was previously associated to his batting' date=' but to say his legacy is eroding with time is a grossly inaccurate statement.[/quote'] Can you honestly claim to admire and be in awe of a Gavaskar or Sobers or Bradman in the same way as an observer that actually grew up watching these players performing at their peak? That aura you speak of is a function of the fans that felt it, that breathed it. Our numbers are dwindling with each passing year and replaced by a new set of imposters that claim to know Tendulkar having watched him since say 2001.

[Ram]

Again, I do not dispute your 'Aura is not as powerful as before’. But his legacy is as powerful as ever and growing. And they're two totally different things.

[DomainK]

Can you honestly claim to admire and be in awe of a Gavaskar or Sobers or Bradman in the same way as an observer that actually grew up watching these players performing at their peak? That aura you speak of is a function of the fans that felt it' date=' that breathed it. Our numbers are dwindling with each passing year and replaced by a new set of imposters that claim to know Tendulkar having watched him since say 2001.[/quote'] The comparisions are foolish. Tendulkar is way bigger than a Gavasker, a Sobers or a Bradman (save the debate, I am not talking about who is a better batsman). Tendulkar is much more than just a batsman. And his time is not over. That time is as fresh in memory as it was yesterday. And for this generation (that watched Tendulkar play) will never forget that that or even the memories wont dim a bit. Gavaskar, Dev, Amarnath etc were great cricketers.

[goose]

Call it legacy, call it aura or whatever. The fact that otherwise intelligent life on this board of all places increasingly bracket Tendulkar with Lara is proof that the former's legacy has diverged from reality.