Even Defending Needs Aggression, The Word Is Misunderstood: Virender Sehwag

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Virender Sehwag's swashbuckling batting style made him one of the hardest hitters of the ball. Having played 374 internationals, including 104 Tests, Sehwag's 38 centuries are the end products of a pugnacious style of batting. He has an average strike rate of 100-plus in international matches. Sehwag spoke exclusively to Outlook at his international school in Jhajjar in Haryana and said the word 'aggression' has been much misunderstood and it's purely situational how one describes it. Sehwag feels gamesmanship is not aggression. Excerpts.
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Transcript

00:00 Hi, we are at Virender Sehwag's International School in Chajjar.

00:04 Sehwag, as you all know, he remains an icon of the field as well.

00:10 And when you were a cricketer, you were known to be a very aggressive cricketer.

00:15 You wanted to hit the ball to people, talked about your hand-eye coordination and various kinds of things.

00:20 You are not the technically most perfect batsman, no, not at all.

00:24 So, how would you define aggression when you played cricket and how would you define aggression now in life?

00:32 I think aggression, I don't say that I was very aggressive because I was thinking that I can hit this ball and I want to hit that ball. That's it.

00:44 So, I don't know I was aggressively hitting that ball or not because if you want to hit a 4 and 6, you have to hit with the power.

00:50 And if you are hitting with the power and people think that that aggression, aggression is that you have to control that aggression also.

00:56 You cannot hit every ball also.

00:58 So, I think when I was playing, I was in my control, which ball I want to hit, I can hit it and which ball I can't, I don't want it, I don't do that.

01:09 So, I was very controlled in aggression and today's life, I am not aggressive at all.

01:16 I am not writing anything, I am not saying anything, but aggression is good thing, but control aggression is a very good thing.

01:24 So, nowadays a lot of cricketer misunderstood what is aggression.

01:29 So, aggression is if you defence the ball with lot of positive energy, that is also aggression.

01:36 Aggression doesn't mean that go out there and start hitting from the first ball and try to hit every ball and get out. No.

01:43 So, you have to understand that you are aggressive, but you have to control your aggression.

01:46 So, there is a ball to it, you just hit it and rather than other balls, you have to survive also.

01:51 So, that what I mean, that what I did throughout my life.

01:55 So, when people gave me that stand that I was very aggressive, but I was very positive, I say that.

02:01 Yeah, when I saw in 2001, what happened in the Port Elizabeth in that famous incident with Mike Dennis, where you were charged with excessive appealing.

02:11 Do you regret that incident?

02:13 Not really, because if you, appealing is your right and you can appeal and that time nobody told me that you cannot appeal 10 times.

02:25 There was no law like that.

02:27 So, but I was appealing and I was very sure that batsman was out and I was shouting and I was appealing.

02:34 And only 6 players, I think, got fined for that and I was the only one who got banned.

02:42 And when I came to India and I met the president of BCCI, Jagmohan Dalmia was there and they said, don't worry, they banned you for one game, but you will get your money.

02:54 So, then I told the president that and Mr. Dalmia that I am not bothered about that money because they banned me and people were thinking that I did something wrong.

03:05 So, you have to spread the message that Sehwag didn't do anything wrong, but that match of free decision was against him.

03:13 So, that if you can do that, I am happy, I am not bothered about the money.

03:17 So, I am okay with that.

03:19 That what I told. So, I was, I don't regret it, but certain things happen in your life, you have to accept it.

03:26 100 Test matches, not many people play that.

03:29 Your cricket career was relatively controversy free, except for perhaps that incident in Port Elizabeth Test.

03:39 What do you think that when, by the name of aggression, batsman will go and push the bowler,

03:47 you know, the shoulder dash, it has happened with Virat Kohli recently.

03:51 Do you think they are right things to do or they are gamesmanship that you need to do this, especially when you are the captain of a country?

03:58 No, I don't think so that that is aggression.

04:01 I don't know because I haven't seen that game, I haven't seen that clip.

04:05 So, I cannot answer on that, but I don't think so because when batsman played a shot,

04:10 so he has to run in a certain line and that line comes in the follow through of the bowler.

04:16 So, both have to understand that, you know, so they haven't, should bang each other.

04:24 So, and both has to aware also.

04:26 So, I think it was maybe that both bowler and batsman both made a mistake and they come and they bang each other

04:35 and because of that, they ban, whatever the warning give Virat Kohli on that.

04:39 But this is not aggression. This is not aggression and I don't think so anybody can do deliberately.

04:45 I haven't seen in my career because even I, when I was playing against Pakistan,

04:50 I hit a flick shot and I was running and I was looking towards ball and I banged to Shoaib Akhtar

04:55 and I said sorry to Shoaib Akhtar that because I was not looking at him and he was also not looking at him.

05:00 He was looking at the ball and suddenly he turned and I saw Shoaib Akhtar in front of me and I banged him

05:05 and he also said sorry and I also said sorry and we moved on.

05:08 So, some incident happened without the knowledge of the people. So, I think that what happened with Virat Kohli.

05:15 If you remember the Asian Test Championship, that famous match where again you mentioned Shoaib Akhtar

05:20 and Sachin Tendulkar that run out and the entire stadium was…

05:24 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 99?

05:26 Yes, absolutely. I was covering that match and you know, the except two people,

05:31 the entire stadium was evacuated and everybody, it was probably one of the darkest days of Indian cricket when that happened.

05:37 Do you recall that incident when you talked about Shoaib Akhtar, you bashed against him and you moved on in life?

05:42 If you look at the clip, I don't think Shoaib Akhtar deliberately did that.

05:46 Absolutely.

05:47 And even Sachin was there, that's why Sachin went with police and tell the people that,

05:54 you know, that was not his fault and you make sure that don't do stupid things and just sit and enjoy the game of cricket.

06:01 So, I don't think so Shoaib Akhtar did deliberately. So, it was it, it had happened.

06:06 And I don't think so it was anybody's fault.

06:10 Absolutely.

06:11 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Even Defending Needs Aggression, The Word Is Misunderstood: Virender Sehwag

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