Virender Sehwag, nicknamed ‘Viru’, is an international cricketer, who is known for his aggressive right-hand batting style. He was born to Mr.Krishan and his wife Krishna Sehwag on October 20, 1978 in Delhi, India and has three siblings. Virender Sehwag got married to Aarti Alhawat in April 2004 and they have a son born on October 18, 2007.
Virender Sehwag made his Test match debut in 2001 as a middle-order batsman for the Indian team against South Africa with a century to his name, scoring 105. After home series in 2001-02 against England and Zimbabwe, Virender Sehwag was promoted up the order to open the innings in the 2002 England tour and he remained in the order ever since. During the 2002-03 season, he scored his maiden home century of 147 against West Indies, earning his first Man of the Match award and on December 26, 2003 test match against Australia, he scored 195.
In 2004, Virender Sehwag scored the first ever triple century by an Indian with 309 runs against Pakistan, earning the Man of the Match award and later, the Man of the Series award. The same year, he scored 155 against Australia in Chennai and 164 in the First Test of the series against South Africa and 88 in the second, claiming the Man of the Series award once again. At the 2005 three-match Test series against Pakistan, Virender Sehwag scored a total of 544 runs at an average of 90.66, and he went on to cross 3000 runs becoming the fastest Indian to reach it in terms of innings played. For his performance in the earlier 12-months period, Virender Sehwag got selected in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Team of the Year and also got nominated for the Test Player of the Year award. He captained the side in the third Test match of a series against Sri Lanka in the absence of Rahul Dravid, leading the team to victory.
In January 2005, Virender Sehwag scored 254 against Pakistan, which was the highest ever Test score at a strike rate of above 100 and the second fastest double century. In the process, he was also involved in the 410 run partnership with Rahul Dravid, which was just four run short of a record opening partnership in Test matches. In the second Test match of the 2006 West Indies tour, Virender Sehwag hit 180 runs in 190 balls and also took four wickets and for his good efforts, he was named the Man of the Match. In the fourth Test match of the December 2007 series against Australia, he scored a match-saving 151 in the second innings, his first century in the second innings of a test match. In the April 2008 home series against South Africa, Virender Sehwag claimed the fastest Test triple century with 319 in the first Test in Chennai, becoming the third batsman to score 2 triple centuries.
Virender Sehwag made his One Day International (ODI) debut in April 1999, but came to prominence in March 2001, when he earned a Man of the Match award for his all-round performance in a game against Australia. In August 2001, in a tri-series involving India, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand, Virender Sehwag was given the opportunity to open the innings for India on the absence of Sachin Tendulkar. In the finalist-decider against New Zealand, he scored his maiden ODI century in just 69 balls, the second fastest ODI century by an Indian. In 2002, he scored the Indian second fastest half-century in just 22 balls against Kenya in Bloemfontein. In the India-England ODI Series in January 2002, Virender Sehwag entered the pitch as an opening batsman on Sourav Ganguly’s absence, and this time he sealed the opening spot for himself, by proving that he is more fruitful at the top of the order. In the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka, Virender Sehwag scored 271 runs at an average of 90.33, earning two Man of the Match awards in the tournament.
He, with Sourav Ganguly, had two big ODI partnerships, 192 against England, in which he scored 126 from 104 balls, and 196 against West Indies, in which he scored unbeaten 114 from 82 balls. Virender Sehwag was the only batsman to score a century in the 7 match ODI series against New Zealand, scoring two centuries, 108 in Napier and 112 in Auckland. He played in the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup and scored his tournament highest of 82 in the final against Australia. At the 2003-04 ODI series, Virender Sehwag scored one century and 3 fifties and in 2004 and at the 2004-05 ODI series, he earned 3 Man of the Match awards. In the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, he scored 114 from 87 deliveries against Bermuda in India’s total score of 413, which is the highest team total in a World Cup match.
Virender Sehwag is naturally an attacking batsman and Twenty20 (T20) format is considered to suit his style of play better. He played in 19 T20 matches and scored 374 runs with a highest score of 68, and in Indian Premier League (IPL), Virender Sehwag is the Delhi Daredevils’ most expensive player with a contract worth $833,750. He lead the team from the front in 13 matches during the inaugural IPL season, scoring 403 runs, with a highest score of unbeaten 94, and also claimed 3 wickets with his off-spin bowling.
