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Is Virender Sehwag an ATG?

He was amazing to watch and a scary sight when in form.

ATG is perhaps too far, but definitely refined opening batting and showed what it can be like with an aggressive mindset.
 
Abdullah719 said:
Waqar failed in Australia and failed in 2 Tests in India.

Sehwag averaged 24.7 across NINETEEN Tests in the aforementioned three countries.
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A sub-continent batsman finds England conditions to be the toughest while for the same bowler, he finds Australian conditions to be the toughest. Both Sehwag and Waqar have failed in the respective countries. You do the math where is it they rank.
 
Balthazar said:
A sub-continent batsman finds England conditions to be the toughest while for the same bowler, he finds Australian conditions to be the toughest. Both Sehwag and Waqar have failed in the respective countries. You do the math where is it they rank.
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I already gave the bare numbers and stated my opinion. You're free to disagree.
 
Haz95 said:
It's a simple question, would you rate Sehwag among batsmen like Gavaskar or Smith? That would answer the question to whether he's an "ATG" or not. It seems literally ever batsman on PP is ATG lol...Too many *******.
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Whether sehwag was ATG or not that was debatable

But purely as a batsman I would have to go with sehwag, just for his ability to score runs very quickly and also make huge scores....when he gets going he makes things easy for the guy at the other end as he has the ability to spoil a bowler's rhythm and a captain's plan

Smiths propensity to score 4th innings and under-pressure centuries is astounding but he was a little too workman-like....I have seen he's been overshadowed by his own saffers team mates many times but his counterpart was completely diff sehwag played most of his games along with greats like sachin,dravid,laxman and still outclassed them effortlessly....He was a more impactful player
 
Our 2000s team wouldn't have been as successful without Sehwag. The likes of Chopra or Jaffer weren't going to get us far. Sehwag was the dynamite and luxury element that allowed everyone else - starting with Dravid at 1-down - to play freely.

This game (and therefore, series) wouldn't have been won had it not been for Sehwag's 4th innings assault:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/361050.html

Notice how Strauss got hundreds in back-to-back innings, as did Sachin in the 4th innings and Collingwood in the 3rd, but it was Sehwag who was awarded MoM for his 83 purely on the basis of the impact that knock had.
 
Had he been a player from Eng/Aus/SA he would have definitely been hailed as a ATG a long long time ago. Have seen far less cricketers been nominated as such. This is just how it works in cricket.
 
Bump - was just thinking about this again in light of the 'Best openers post 90s' thread.

An ATG, I don't know. But amazing in Asia, that's for sure.
 
2nd Tier ATG, great cricketer to watch, destroyed many bowlers careers.

Salute to the Sehwag legacy
 
Not even in the top 10 test openers of all time. Though I will definitely pick him if the match is played in Asia.
 
You can imitate Gavaskar, Boycott and all the boring openers. You can even imitate Lara, Tendulkar. You cannot imitate Viru. You cannot find a batsman with that kind of mindset and ability. All time great is not the word. I would say probably the most gifted opener of all time by a country mile.
 
Only Gavaskar and Smith are ATG opener in post war era. Others are well behind and hence none of them can be categorized as ATG.
 
Not even close. An opener who can't play swing and seam is like a spinner who can't spin the ball.

Great on flat pitches and has played some great innings against world class spinners but that doesn't matter when he couldn't do his primary job right.

Give me a Cook or Smith any day and a Gavasker any second.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
You can imitate Gavaskar, Boycott and all the boring openers. You can even imitate Lara, Tendulkar. You cannot imitate Viru. You cannot find a batsman with that kind of mindset and ability. All time great is not the word. I would say probably the most gifted opener of all time by a country mile.
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Afridi, Warner, Jayasuriya, Anwar and Hayden were all destructive when they needed to be. You would be hard-pressed to find a more rubbish batsman of the moving ball than Sehwag though.
 
Bilal7 said:
Afridi, Warner, Jayasuriya, Anwar and Hayden were all destructive when they needed to be. You would be hard-pressed to find a more rubbish batsman of the moving ball than Sehwag though.
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lol at mentioning afridi with those names. he cannot score 200s and 300s in test cricket in a million yrs

he is a nothing batsman compared sehwag and the others that you mentioned.
 
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Leo23 said:
lol at mentioning afridi with those names. he cannot score 200s and 300s in test cricket in a million yrs

he is a nothing batsman compared sehwag and the others that you mentioned. but not surprised coming from you given your posting history.
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Afridi could easily have been a 42-45 averaging batsman in tests with a high s/r if he showed more dedication to test cricket.
Sehwag is almost an ATG based on his strike rate which is unique and makes him more dangerous than some ATG batsmen who were more solid but less capable of taking a game away from the opposition.
 
Leo23 said:
lol at mentioning afridi with those names. he cannot score 200s and 300s in test cricket in a million yrs

he is a nothing batsman compared sehwag and the others that you mentioned.
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What are you doing commenting on test cricket? You have admitted that you find it boring and your comments on the purest format of the game are completely irrelevant.
 
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One of a kind, the most original of openers. Absolute, legit, unvarnished great of all time. That's Sehwag for you.
 
Destructive opener. Can't forget that match winning knock while chasing 380 vs England.

Will pick him behind Smith, Hayden and probably Cookie.
 
Ted123 said:
Destructive opener. Can't forget that match winning knock while chasing 380 vs England.

Will pick him behind Smith, Hayden and probably Cookie.
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Hayden was somewhat similar. Struggled in Eng, SA and NZ, though not as bad as Sehwag. Smith was more reliable. Cook has proven himself in all types of conditions, but almost guarnateed to fail against great bowlers even on easy wickets.
 
AlizeeFan said:
Hayden was somewhat similar. Struggled in Eng, SA and NZ, though not as bad as Sehwag. Smith was more reliable. Cook has proven himself in all types of conditions, but almost guarnateed to fail against great bowlers even on easy wickets.
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Hayden is arguably the greatest non Asian batsmen in Asia in last 20 years. Dont know why people undermine him on this forum.May be because of more affection towards guys better known for seeing off the new ball rather than those going hard on it.
 
Everyone has a different criteria for ATG so there is no yes or no answer to this question.

At the end of the day not many openers would be picked ahead of him and a player I would go and watch.
 
Ab Fan said:
Hayden is arguably the greatest non Asian batsmen in Asia in last 20 years. Dont know why people undermine him on this forum.May be because of more affection towards guys better known for seeing off the new ball rather than those going hard on it.
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Hayden and Sehwag thrived in similar conditions. Australia, India, WI. But Sehwag was a beast in Asia.
 
Ab Fan said:
Hayden is arguably the greatest non Asian batsmen in Asia in last 20 years. Dont know why people undermine him on this forum.May be because of more affection towards guys better known for seeing off the new ball rather than those going hard on it.
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Well, err, Andy Flower was not far behind.
 
Ab Fan said:
Hayden is arguably the greatest non Asian batsmen in Asia in last 20 years. Dont know why people undermine him on this forum.May be because of more affection towards guys better known for seeing off the new ball rather than those going hard on it.
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Amla and Cook have been better in Asia.
 
Finding bit ironic Pakistani posters bashing Sehwag..
 
Bilal7 said:
Amla and Cook have been better in Asia.
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Naah. Look at the attack Hayden faced and scored against and what those two faced in UAE.

Hayden faced Waqar,Akhtar and Saqlain.

Those two faced the likes of Wahab and Rahat and I recall Cook's struggle when he was up against Amir and Asif.Amla never scored against them either. They didn't faced Yasir. Neither did Amla.

And also in India, Hayden vs that Indian side> Cook vs the one he scored against because there was gulf of difference in those Indian sides.Warne and Ponting were useless in India vs that side. Amla was rubbish recently in India vs Ashwin/Jadeja.

Will go with Hayden>Amla> Cook.There are the likes of Andy Flower and Damien Martyn too and also Jacques Kallis.
 
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Ted123 said:
Naah. Look at the attack Hayden faced and scored against and what those two faced in UAE.

Hayden faced Waqar,Akhtar and Saqlain.

Those two faced the likes of Wahab and Rahat and I recall Cook's struggle when he was up against Amir and Asif.Amla never scored against them either. They didn't faced Yasir. Neither did Amla.

And also in India, Hayden vs that Indian side> Cook vs the one he scored against because there was gulf of difference in those Indian sides.Warne and Ponting were useless in India vs that side. Amla was rubbish recently in India vs Ashwin/Jadeja.

Will go with Hayden>Amla> Cook.There are the likes of Andy Flower and Damien Martyn too and also Jacques Kallis.
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[MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION], basically this.Hayden faced better bowlers than either of the two.
 
Ab Fan said:
[MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION], basically this.Hayden faced better bowlers than either of the two.
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Ted123 said:
Naah. Look at the attack Hayden faced and scored against and what those two faced in UAE.

Hayden faced Waqar,Akhtar and Saqlain.

Those two faced the likes of Wahab and Rahat and I recall Cook's struggle when he was up against Amir and Asif.Amla never scored against them either. They didn't faced Yasir. Neither did Amla.

And also in India, Hayden vs that Indian side> Cook vs the one he scored against because there was gulf of difference in those Indian sides.Warne and Ponting were useless in India vs that side. Amla was rubbish recently in India vs Ashwin/Jadeja.

Will go with Hayden>Amla> Cook.There are the likes of Andy Flower and Damien Martyn too and also Jacques Kallis.
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Amla, and Cook to an extent, did very well against Saeed Ajmal who was a better test bowler than Saqi. Hayden did face better pacers by far, but on pretty dead tracks for fast bowlers.

Against India, Amla has bossed Harbhajjan and also has a century against Kumble. Cook schooled Ashwin in 2013 and the only reason Ashwin and Jadeja had an insanely good series against the South Africans in 2015 were the pitches.

You're mentioning Amir and Asif as if they were ever a factor against Cook in the UAE. Spinners are the biggest threat in Asia, not pacers. If you want to know how good someone is against the pacers, then check their record in South Africa and England.

Amla > Cook >= Hayden.
 
Bilal7 said:
Amla, and Cook to an extent, did very well against Saeed Ajmal who was a better test bowler than Saqi. Hayden did face better pacers by far, but on pretty dead tracks for fast bowlers.

Against India, Amla has bossed Harbhajjan and also has a century against Kumble. Cook schooled Ashwin in 2013 and the only reason Ashwin and Jadeja had an insanely good series against the South Africans in 2015 were the pitches.

You're mentioning Amir and Asif as if they were ever a factor against Cook in the UAE. Spinners are the biggest threat in Asia, not pacers. If you want to know how good someone is against the pacers, then check their record in South Africa and England.

Amla > Cook >= Hayden.
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Well,firstly Cook never faced Amir and Asif in UAE.

Now I dont remember Cook scoring vs Ajmal and Ashwin of 2013 was a nothing bowler.

Cook 293 came against a poor attack of Imran,Rahat and Wahab on Abu Dhabhi which was a really dead wicket.

Hayden was beast in that series in India where Harbhajan was destroying other Australians.1 hundred,1 200 and 2 fifties,1 not out in 3 tests. He would have won the series if not for harbhajan's performance in decider. Cook faced a nothing Ashwin of that time and Pragyan Ojha.

And I dont consider Ajmal a better test bowler than Saqlain either.

And its not that pacers are useless completely in UAE particularly with new ball vs the openers.

Among openers in Asia,I will pick Hayden ahead of anyone IMO.Cook comes second followed by Kirsten IMO.

As for Amla, I remember all that and also drew a decider vs Herath in SL. So, its close enough.

But there is no way, its clear- cut between the three.
 
Bilal7 said:
Amla, and Cook to an extent, did very well against Saeed Ajmal who was a better test bowler than Saqi. Hayden did face better pacers by far, but on pretty dead tracks for fast bowlers.

Against India, Amla has bossed Harbhajjan and also has a century against Kumble. Cook schooled Ashwin in 2013 and the only reason Ashwin and Jadeja had an insanely good series against the South Africans in 2015 were the pitches.

You're mentioning Amir and Asif as if they were ever a factor against Cook in the UAE. Spinners are the biggest threat in Asia, not pacers. If you want to know how good someone is against the pacers, then check their record in South Africa and England.

Amla > Cook >= Hayden.
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Cook faces them on flattest roads in 2016 and returned with avg of 39 on pitches where almost everyone scored. Cook goes missing every time bowlers are doing well against the team. He is certainly all condition batsman for sure.
 
Cook had a torrid time against Vaas and Malinga. Can't think what Asif would have done to him.
 
Sehwag is borderline atg. He struggled in swinging and seaming conditions but he could do things no other batsman could ever do: regularly score huge daddy hundreds at run a ball. Unique player who cannot be judged with normal metrics.
 
Kings XI Punjab fans are in for a real treat in the team’s first match against Delhi Daredevils at Mohali on April 8 as they will get another glimpse of batting legend Virender Sehwag in action, if only for one match.

Sehwag will come out of retirement and will open the innings in the absence of Aaron Finch. The decision, which was taken at the team preparatory camp in Mohali after a long deliberation by captain Ravichandran Ashwin, coach Brad Hodge, Director of Cricket Operations Virender Sehwag himself and the team management.

The ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’, who showed fine form in the recent Ice Cricket matches in St Moritz by scoring 62 off 31 in the first match and 46 off 22 balls in the second, reached the decision after practising in the nets with some of the current Kings XI Punjab team players.

“Initially it was just for giving the young boys some bowling practice. But I was seeing the ball really well and was able to play my strokes comfortably,” Sehwag told kxip.in. “So when the question of who will open in the first match in Finch’s absence came up and Brad jokingly said my name I really started thinking about it.”

Sehwag, who was playing in the Indian Premier League till as late as the 2015 season, replied in his trademark cheerful manner when asked if he’d feel any pressure facing his former IPL team and ex-opening partner Gautam Gambhir.

“Delhi was my karmabhoomi for a few seasons when I was a player, but my loyalties lie with Kings XI Punjab now. And when it comes to Gauti, his name itself is so serious that maybe watching me bat again will bring a smile to his face,” Sehwag laughed.

Ever since Finch announced his unavailability in Punjab’s opening encounter owing to his marriage, the team has been pondering over the right top order combination. As a result, the big-hitting Viru-paaji was finally asked to step up to the plate, and he obliged.

“There were a number of names thrown up but somehow the team combination wasn’t coming together,” Hodge explained. “But watching Sehwag bat in the nets gave me the idea of trying him in the opening match. We discussed this during the camp and he was more than happy to take the field once again.”

Team CEO Satish Menon was overjoyed with the decision.

“Virender Sehwag has been the backbone of our team for a number of years and has proved what a team player he is,” Menon remarked. “As usual, Viru has found us a way out. Fans will get to watch him in action at the IPL one last time and as a cricket fan myself I couldn’t be more delighted.”

https://www.kxip.in/amp/news/sehwag...elhi-in-opener-1581?__twitter_impression=true
 
If people have the audacity to doubt Cook's ATG status, how can Sehwag even be considered?
 
Sehwag was peak Indian cricket. The cherry on top of a very good cake.

Everything since him has only been downhill.
 
Like my little brother Varun just shared, Sehwag was THE trump card of our greatest team ever. He was the most trusted henchman. What stats look like at the end of the day I don't know and don't care but till most of the time he represented India he had a beastly presence in that too order and he took bowling line ups apart for fun on his day which was more often than not.

A test opener averaging 50 with SR 80+ is INSANE.

What an entertainer.
 
freelance_cricketer said:
Like my little brother Varun just shared, Sehwag was THE trump card of our greatest team ever. He was the most trusted henchman. What stats look like at the end of the day I don't know and don't care but till most of the time he represented India he had a beastly presence in that too order and he took bowling line ups apart for fun on his day which was more often than not.

A test opener averaging 50 with SR 80+ is INSANE.

What an entertainer.
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Yep. And even when he was going through a bad run of form (which lasted longer than others in the team), nobody ever wanted him dropped from the side - we knew that the faith would pay off sooner rather than later!
 
Varun said:
Yep. And even when he was going through a bad run of form (which lasted longer than others in the team), nobody ever wanted him dropped from the side - we knew that the faith would pay off sooner rather than later!
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We always knew it was always just a matter of time before he puts a lot of Pakistani fans in tears. Him taking apart Imran Gull in 2011 world cup was immensely satisfying.

Sadly we are at the receiving end of it now days and got Fakh'd ourselves in CT-17. :(
 
If we start calling the likes of Cook, Sehwag, Younis as ATGs, then every Tom, Dick and Harry will be an ATG.

ATGs are reserved for some only.
 
Ab Fan said:
If we start calling the likes of Cook, Sehwag, Younis as ATGs, then every Tom, Dick and Harry will be an ATG.

ATGs are reserved for some only.
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Sehwag may not be an ATG, but if you were putting together an all-time Indian XI he would easily be opener in both formats, with Gavaskar in Tests and Sachin in ODIs.
 
Varun said:
Sehwag may not be an ATG, but if you were putting together an all-time Indian XI he would easily be opener in both formats, with Gavaskar in Tests and Sachin in ODIs.
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Yes, that is undeniable. Although, in odis, some may pick Ganguly or Sharma or Dhawan.
 
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Ab Fan said:
If we start calling the likes of Cook, Sehwag, Younis as ATGs, then every Tom, Dick and Harry will be an ATG.

ATGs are reserved for some only.
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Sehwag has his own unique style so he will be remembered as long as this game exist

Whilst players like cook and younis will come and go thats the difference bw them
 
bujhee kom said:
Based on home domination. His allround game is way short of Cook.
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Cook also averages 28 in NZ and 31 in SA. His all-round game is better than Sehwag but then he hasn't dominated at home like Sehwag and rather his performance at home against top teams leaves a lot missing. Hence, both are sort of ATG for me.
 
Protea Fan said:
Sehwag has his own unique style so he will be remembered as long as this game exist

Whilst players like cook and younis will come and go thats the difference bw them
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Yes but he had lots of flaws. A genius but not ATG.
 
Ab Fan said:
Cook also averages 28 in NZ and 31 in SA. His all-round game is better than Sehwag but then he hasn't dominated at home like Sehwag and rather his performance at home against top teams leaves a lot missing. Hence, <B>both are sort of ATG for me.</B>
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Correction:- Both misses out from being ATG.
 
Ab Fan said:
Cook also averages 28 in NZ and 31 in SA. His all-round game is better than Sehwag but then he hasn't dominated at home like Sehwag and rather his performance at home against top teams leaves a lot missing. Hence, both are sort of ATG for me.
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Sehwag's all round game is better than cook imo.He is arguably one among the top 5 players of spin bowling ever,good against fast bowling and mediocre in swinging conditions

Cook is very good against spin decent to average when ball starts swings and horrible against genuine pace

Adding to this the former's ability to dominate any attack in no time makes his overall game far superior to the latter
 
Protea Fan said:
Sehwag's all round game is better than cook imo.He is arguably one among the top 5 players of spin bowling ever,good against fast bowling and mediocre in swinging conditions

Cook is very good against spin decent to average when ball starts swings and horrible against genuine pace

Adding to this the former's ability to dominate any attack in no time makes his overall game far superior to the latter
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Sehwag's brilliant hand-eye coordination and reflexes makes him a good batsmen against genuine pace. Once he was past, he was done because he didnt had the reflexes.

However, when it comes to performance in various conditions, Cook is excellent against spin and good vs swing, seam and bounce. You dont score that many runs with struggle against bounce.So, he is an all-round player. His issue is against vulnerable quicks.

Sehwag is one of the greatest vs spin, good against bounce but horrible vs swing and seam. His lack of foot movement always meant that he would struggle in swinging and seaming conditions.
 
Ab Fan said:
Sehwag's brilliant hand-eye coordination and reflexes makes him a good batsmen against genuine pace. Once he was past, he was done because he didnt had the reflexes.

However, when it comes to performance in various conditions, Cook is excellent against spin and good vs swing, seam and bounce. You dont score that many runs with struggle against bounce.So, he is an all-round player. His issue is against vulnerable quicks.

Sehwag is one of the greatest vs spin, good against bounce but horrible vs swing and seam. His lack of foot movement always meant that he would struggle in swinging and seaming conditions.
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He won't avg's that badly in SA and Nuz if he is that good against swing and seam.By comparing with sehwag in swinging conditions we can say that he's a bit better but even then the gap is only mere
 
Yes an ATG,but 2nd tier one.Because his runs were usually impact runs.Game changer and unique one that.Deadliest opener of all time on asian conditions.Destroyer of spin bowling.
 
Protea Fan said:
He won't avg's that badly in SA and Nuz if he is that good against swing and seam.By comparing with sehwag in swinging conditions we can say that he's a bit better but even then the gap is only mere
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He is good against swing and seam. He does the job of opening in England where it swings early on and has scored many runs there and has been England's only established opener for last 12 years. He won't have survived this long if he wasn't good in swinging conditions.
 
Nope not an ATG at all but one of the greats of Indian cricket and one of the most fearless batsmen in the world.
 
freelance_cricketer said:
We always knew it was always just a matter of time before he puts a lot of Pakistani fans in tears. Him taking apart Imran Gull in 2011 world cup was immensely satisfying.

Sadly we are at the receiving end of it now days and got Fakh'd ourselves in CT-17. :(
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Lol. I see a lot of similiraties between Fakhar and Sehwag. See ball, hit ball. Fun to watch
 
Happy Birthday, Veeru! There was no better batsman than him when on song, absolutely no one.
 
Anyone who was watching cricket in 2004-2007 period will agree. The one back everyone wanted to see was of Sehwag’s. This was in a line up of Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, Yuv, etc
Sehwag was ruthless. He brought a sense of domination to Indian team that no other player brought, maybe Rohit Sharma comes close.
ATG for me, don’t care about the stats
 
Farabi said:
Anyone who was watching cricket in 2004-2007 period will agree. The one back everyone wanted to see was of SehwagÂ’s. This was in a line up of Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, Yuv, etc
Sehwag was ruthless. He brought a sense of domination to Indian team that no other player brought, maybe Rohit Sharma comes close.
ATG for me, donÂ’t care about the stats
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Nope.
 
Might be an unpopular opinion, but I honestly would pick Sehwag over Rohit solely for the fact that Sehwag did what he did versus better bowling.
 
Some insecure fans who have started calling Rishabh Pant an ATG already have problem with sehwag being called an ATG? :facepalm

There is a reason Sehwag was picked by many players in their all time XIs as an opener. Let that sink in. :inti.
 
ATG. In terms of impact he was like Viv. Just hit everything because your hand-eye coordination is like in the top 1% of the entire planet.

He played tests like no other batsman had played before him (except Viv) and did so for a prolonged period of time. Him doing all this in spite of his technical deficiencies shows how special he was as a player.

As a person he’s annoying from a Pakistani perspective. Always trying to start petty fights on Twitter with Pak. Good that Shoaib Akhtar brought him back to earth.
 
ATG Test opener. Best from Asia since Gavaskar.

Massive underachiever in ODIs though.
 
Averages in 20s in South Africa, England and New Zealand suggesting he doesn't have game to survive the period when the new ball is swinging or seaming. Terrific player outside that.
 
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