Ian Chappell hails Virender Sehwag's mental strength

Ian Chappell and Virender Sehwag

Melbourne: Former Australia cricket captain Ian Chappell yesterday heaped praise on recently retired India batsman Virender Sehwag, terming him as someone unique with great mental strength, also adding that he will miss the 37-year-old's 'like it or lump it' style of approaching the game.


Ian Chappell and Virender Sehwag

Sehwag on Tuesday announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket and Indian Premier League (IPL) with immediate effect. In a career spanning over 15 years in international cricket, Sehwag featured in 104 Tests and scored 8,586 runs at a staggering average of 49.34. In 251 One-Day Internationals (ODI), he amassed 8,273 runs at an average of 35.05. He also scored 38 international hundreds.

"Sehwag is amongst the most entertaining batsman I have ever seen. It has been many hours of pleasure watching Sehwag batting. He is a player of great mental strength. He just listens to you and then goes to the field the way he wants. And to be so successful in it was amazing," Chappell was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.

"The specialty about him was he said this is the way I play, you can say what you like about it but this is how I play. This suits me best. There are not many guys who are so mentally strong like him," he said. Chappell also shared an incident when then India chief coach John Wright told Sehwag to be cautious ahead of playing shots and Sehwag replied to it with just a smile.

"I remember, I met John Wright during his coaching in India. He said to me after Sehwag got out cheaply off a bad stroke, he told Sehwag to be a bit cautious. When I asked John what was Sehwag's reply, John said Sehwag just smiled and did not reply. I am going to miss Sehwag, as I really enjoyed his batting," Chappell concluded.