Virender Sehwag urges youngsters to bat aggressively in Tests to attract crowds

Virendra Sehwag. (Source – Twitter/X)

Virender Sehwag urged young cricketers to adopt an aggressive batting approach in Tests to help their teams win more matches and draw more crowds to the stadiums.

Notably, England have adopted an ultra-aggressive approach in Test cricket under head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes. Since June 2022, the Three Lions have the highest run rate in Test matches, scoring their runs at a  rate of 4.61 per over. Recently, Sehwag lauded England’s ‘Bazball’ style of play and Australia’s aggressive intent in the early 2000s and said that it allows them win more games.

“The manner in which England is playing Test cricket, scoring at five runs an over. In our playing days, Australia used to score at 4 runs per over. I have always believed that if you can attack, then you give your team more chances to win the Test matches,” Sehwag was quoted as saying by India Today.

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Sehwag was one of the most aggressive batters during his time. He finished with an awe-inspiring strike rate of 82.23 after playing 104 Tests and amassing 8586 runs at an average of 49.34.

“So, if anyone develops an aggressive game that can suit Test cricket, then why not? After all, we would like people to come and watch Tests. Was it good or bad? I scored a triple ton in 270-odd balls. Today’s kid might score 400 if they play that many balls,” he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator boasts the highest strike in the history of the international red-ball format with a minimum of 2500 runs. The 45-year-old also has the joint-highest triple hundreds in Tests (two) along with six double centuries. Sehwag made the longest format of the game entertaining with his unshrinking strokeplay and expects the youngsters to follow a similar approach.

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In recent times, Yashasvi Jaiswal has shown the penchant for playing attacking cricket in the Test circuit. The 22-year-old has played nine Tests and scored his runs at a commendable strike rate of 70.07. Many have compared him to Sehwag for his fearless approach to batting in Test matches.