New Delhi. The scene was of Bangalore’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The year was 2005. The last match of the high-voltage test series was being played between India and Pakistan. The tension on the field was so great that even the air felt heavy. But amidst this tension, there was one Indian batsman standing at the crease, who was humming along with thrashing the Pakistani bowlers. That name was none other than Virender Sehwag, the most fearless opener of Indian cricket.
Veeru’s style has always been different. When he was at the crease, his mindset was more in discussion than his footwork. Veeru himself made some interesting revelations about this unique habit of his in a chat show, which forced the cricket fans to smile once again. Sehwag told that he used to entertain Pakistani players a lot on the field not only with his explosive batting but also with his singing talent.
Sehwag used to fulfill the requests of Pakistani fielders while batting.
When Yasir Hameed requested for the song of ‘Kishore Kumar’
Virender Sehwag shared a very interesting anecdote from that historic match. He told that generally people or the opposition team had no idea that he sings a song while batting. But this secret was revealed during the India-Pakistan series. According to Sehwag, ‘I was playing after scoring around 150 runs in the Bangalore Test. Then Pakistani player Yasir Hameed, who was fielding at short leg, came to me. He was surprised and asked me, ‘Viru Bhai, do you really sing songs while batting?’ I said yes smiling. After this, Yasir immediately requested me to sing a song of Kishore Kumar.
Sehwag laughingly further said that he also fulfilled Yasir’s request. In this way, he not only troubled the Pakistani team by hitting boundaries, but also entertained them by playing tunes in between. One cure for every mood: ‘Chala jaata hoon kisi ki dhun mein…’ When Sehwag was asked about his favorite songs, he told that he had songs for every situation in his quiver. However, there was one song which was his all-time favourite.
evergreen song
Sehwag’s favorite song is Kishore Kumar’s ‘Chala jaata ho kisi ki dhun mein, dhadakte dil ke tarane liye’. Was. According to Veeru, ‘This was a song which I could sing in any mood. Whether the form was good or bad, this song would lift my mood in an instant.
trendy songs
When Sehwag was in good flow and was scoring runs continuously, he used to hum the peppy and trendy numbers of that era like ‘Chittiyan Kalaiyan…’.
Bhakti Rasa
Apart from this, to keep himself calm and maintain concentration, Sehwag also used to memorize and repeat God’s hymns.
That ‘multitasking’ style of batting
Cricket commentators always say that when bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami or Danish Kaneria are bowling at a speed of 145-150 km/hr, then the batsman should concentrate completely on the ball. But Sehwag’s mind worked at a different level. While singing a song, he would gauge the length of the ball and send it across the boundary line. Sehwag believes that singing songs diverted his attention from unnecessary pressure and he was able to play the ball on its merit.
Historic innings, but the result was bitter
In the Bangalore Test that Sehwag mentioned, he had taken a serious dig at the Pakistani bowlers. Facing only 261 balls, he played a magical double century inning of 201 runs. This was the last and decisive match of the three-match Test series. On the basis of this marathon inning of Hawag, India tried to create a strong position, but unfortunately, this brilliant and musical inning of Veeru could not give victory to Team India. Pakistan made a comeback in the match and in the end India had to face defeat by a huge margin of 168 runs.
Even though India lost that match, Sehwag’s batting and this jugalbandi of songs with the Pakistani players in the middle of the field was recorded in the happiest pages of cricket history. Viru proved that cricket may be a game of uncertainties and pressure, but if you have the ‘tune’ in your heart, you never forget to enjoy the game.
