The Jetsetter Jat
Nothing in Virender Sehwag's genes suggest that he's a born cricketer. His dad, Krishan Kumar Sehwag, was a Haryanvi farmer. Buying and selling grains was the family vocation. A flour mill that still runs bears testimony to this. Sehwag's formal training started in the form of a free coaching scheme run by AN Sharma at a government school in west Delhi's Vikaspuri. Sehwag slowly became a special trainee and a turning point came when he joined the Madras Cricket Club. The MCC's coach, the late Satish Sharma, became Sehwag's formal mentor, friend and guide. A man to whom the cricketer attributes his success to.
Fade-in: The story of how a boy became a man.... well, how a Jat became a jetsetter. Almost. How life changed from lassi to coke. How "shoot" came to mean shooting in front of a camera and not the galli type goli baazi that Najafgarh and other dusty North Indian village towns are used to.
In a sense, Virender Sehwag's transformation is the story of the metamorphosis of small town India. From village to semi-urban. From semi-urban to urbane. Sehwag's foray into Indian cricket has made him more urban. And his stupendous success and celebrity value has infused a bit of the urbane. The last bit is difficult though. The Jat accent and mannerisms are worn on the shirt sleeve. And diplomacy is as dear as a rotten dog biscuit. If he doesn't want to talk, he says, "I don't want to talk. Mann nahin hain." But when he speaks, he speaks from the heart. And that's the way he bats too.
But he has to account for the changes too. Every Man of the Match award ceremony is an exercise in presentation. A mini cricket Oscar. Ganguly has already been billed as the smoothest and most articulate in front of the camera.
Sehwag will — no offence meant — take a lifetime to match that. He has to emerge out of the "I am very happy, I am very happy" routine that he follows at every MOM award ceremony.
But, the spills of stardom are already showing and over time, finesse will follow. The bottomline is that Virender Sehwag is beginning to look very good. On the field and off it. The Honda City, the mobile phone and the imported aftershaves have appeared. And oh yes, he is busy. The mark and tag of a successful man. There's no time for the chai shop.
The man from Najafgarh is changing. He has changed the way Indian opening batsmen play cricket. Over time, he will also change. At present, let's just call him an ambassador of change. Of how the great Indian middle-class belly is producing great sons from small town India, who are doing the country proud. And Sehwag, Kaif and Yuvraj are part of this belly. And it is this trinity that is fast changing the face of Indian cricket. If Kolkata's cricket-crazy millions are a barometer of popularity, then Sachin Tendulkar better watch out.
If there was one man who was in demand during the first Test between India and the West Indies at Eden Gardens, it was Sehwag. Sport aficionados have always lived in the present and if Eden chose to swear by a Sehwag, then one can't really fault them. That Tendulkar proved he was still the undisputed king around with his 31st Test ton was of course, another matter.
Even Vivian Richards believes India has emerged from the shadows of Tendulkar-Ganguly and Dravid. And if there has been one man who has made this possible with some clinical consistency, it has been Sehwag.
Before the one-day series began in Jamshedpur recently, Richards wrote in his column: "A few summers earlier, the absence of the little genius (Tendulkar) would have had a telling effect on the Indian team. Things are a little different today because, while he still is the prized wicket, the Indian team has proved that they can perform even when their star player has had a bad day in office.
One just has to look at the NatWest Trophy final at Lord's to realise that there are many players in the Indian team who can be match-winners."
The indications were clear. Beware of the bratpack led by Sehwag. Although he refuses to be likened to Tendulkar, Sehwag's explosive batting style has already caught the attention of the game's pundits. The British media called him the "New Tendulkar", but the 25-year-old says such comparisons are absurd. "Woh to bhagwan hai," says Sehwag, saluting his childhood hero. "Any comparison with him only makes me feel guilty as I am nowhere near him," he adds, admitting that he has indeed modelled his cricket after the Little Master. "I would watch his clippings when I started playing serious cricket.
Even now, when I find time, I go through video clips of his best knocks," he states, adding that it was the sheer timing and power of Tendulkar's shots that has remained etched in his mind.
Sehwag has remained humble in spite of his meteoric rise to fame. "Cricket can be really cruel. I have been given the freedom to play my natural game, but there are lessons to be learnt from every game," he says. His passion for the game is restricted to the pitch, and off-field, he at least tries to remain that simple Delhi lad, who would love to split a chai with his buddies in one of Najafgarh's obscure bylanes.
"I would still love to go and watch a movie with my friends. I don't mind getting noticed because Indians love to worship their hero. Even I did it for Tendulkar," he says. But then playing top flight cricket in India comes with its huge rewards. With corporate honchos and agents keeping his phone ringing all the time, Sehwag has been busy raking in the moolah.
In the wake of all the controversies regarding logos and sponsorship, he cautions you before engaging into a conversation. "No questions about my endorsements, please," says Sehwag. By conservative estimates, he is almost worth a crore in endorsements, Adidas being the latest to rope in the cricketer as a brand ambassador. The galvanisation of Sehwag has come in less than a year's time. He sounded his arrival in international cricket with a century against New Zealand in a one-day international off just 69 balls and followed it up with a century against South Africa in Bloemfontein last year. Another ton against England in Nottingham's windy conditions this summer only spoke about his class and temperament.
"But I really missed the tour of West Indies. It's a dream to score a Test hundred on Caribbean wickets," he laments. Even if he courted international headlines during India's tour of South Africa last year for the Mike Denness controversy, Sehwag says the tour of England was his best so far. He is learning to enjoy the team's success and that's the hallmark of a champion. "I am just there to play my part. The drama is complete only when everybody has played his part well," he says.
For a person meeting this batting dynamite for the first time, Sehwag can come out as an impassive and inarticulate youngster. Unlike his batting, he takes a while to settle down and when he does, he could even show signs of humour. Does he remember the Mike Denness episode at Port Elizabeth? "Of course, I do. Didn't he make me famous?," he flashes a rare smile. The boy from Najafgarh has indeed come a long long way.
Source:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/The-jetsetter-jat/articleshow/28577977.cms
No comments:
Post a Comment