Former India batsman Virender Sehwag has credited Sourav Ganguly for instilling confidence in him to open the innings by backing the move and also by giving him a long rope in the new role. In his column for Indian Express, Sehwag spoke about the conversation he had with Ganguly and how it proved the leadership credentials of the former Indian captain.
“Dada had a big role to play in my shift to the top of the order. It all started with him asking me to open. My reaction was simple: “Why aren’t you opening, even you open, even Sachin opens?” Sehwag wrote.
Sehwag goes on to explain further: “He explained to me that the opening slot was vacant, so if I take it, my place in the side will be guaranteed. But in case I was against the idea and wanted to stick to the middle order, he explained, I would have to wait for someone to get injured.
But what convinced me was his very practical suggestion that he was to give me later. He said, “I will give you three to four innings as an opener. Even if you fail, you will continue to play. And before I drop you, I will again give you a chance in the middle (order)”.
The Delhi man accepts the fact that his transformation as a cricketer and all the success he had as a cricketer was because Ganguly backed him and he believes that this trait will sit well with the new BCCI chief.
“It was a very fair treatment. It’s this clarity that makes a player trust his captain. That gave me a lot of confidence. I thought, Dada is backing me so much, so let me try. Whatever I am today, it is because of him,” Sehwag wrote.
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