New Delhi: India's top cricketers have told the Board of Control for Cricket in India to reduce the number of matches they play, fearing burnout from too much cricket, vice-captain Virender Sehwag disclosed on Saturday.
"There is too much cricket. Players need a break because they (may) burnout from cricket. They need time for fitness also, time to think about their game and to recharge their batteries. If we want to win the World Cup, we need every player to be fit," Sehwag said.
Skipper Rahul Dravid and other senior players, including him, had taken up the matter with the BCCI.
The BCCI couldn’t do anything since the current cricket calendar had been fixed long ago, he said.
The 27-year-old spoke about the raging controversy regarding the amount of international cricket, his own recent lean patch with the bat and a wide range of other issues concerning the Indian team.
About the burnout issue, the Board had been understanding and had promised to give the players adequate breaks after the commitments were fulfilled, he said.
"I think after every series a player should get 20 to 25 days rest. If a player gets 3 to 4 months' break in a year, it is good for players and good for BCCI also", Sehwag said.
Sehwag sees his recent poor form, where he averaged just 15 runs in last 9 Test innings and 31 in his last 15 ODIs, as something that happens to international cricketers.
A slump suddenly "comes into your life" and in some ways "I was ready for that", he said, adding "I was just praying to myself that this patch will go quickly but that did not happen".
After his 73 against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi a few days back, Sehwag declares with confidence, "I am now pretty confident because I have learnt my lessons".
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He is grateful for the guidance he received from Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, coach Greg Chappell and others during the lean patch.
Sehwag, actually, has a new approach to his batting. In the wake of his poor form he pledged to himself to try to bat for at least 100 balls. Against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi, he went out with that mindset.
"I wanted to play (at least) 100 balls. I think I played 80 and got 73 runs. Now I am changing my goal to play 100 balls in every game," he said.
Sehwag dismisses the theory of falling to short-pitch bowling saying that he may have got out in that fashion a few times but "I have got about 3000 Test runs and 4000 ODI runs. If I had a problem like that I will get out in that manner in every innings", he contends.
He says that he encounters problems on Indian wickets because they are not bouncy enough for a stroke player like him. "If the wicket does not have bounce, it is very hard for stroke players who have to hang around there and get their runs by rotating the strike".
He also shared his experiences facing some of the best bowlers. "I have faced Glen McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Andrew
Flintoff, Brett Lee, Shoiab Akhtar, Shaun Pollock, Steve Harmison and Muthiah Muralitharan. In good form, I have scored runs against all of them".
His happiest moment is undoubtedly when he scored a triple century against Pakistan in Multan two years ago.
But his saddest moment was when India lost to Pakistan in the Bangalore Test last year ago chasing over 300 and losing only one wicket in the first session. "We lost that match in just one session after that", he says shaking his
head".
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Sehwag is an unabashed admirer of Tendulkar. "He is my role model, my inspiration. He is still the greatest. I learnt my cricket from Tendulkar," he gushes.
Tendulkar, he says, has changed his batting because he cannot continue that flow of batting forever.
Of crowd expectations from the two of them, Sehwag says that these are entirely different. "They want to see Tendulkar get 100 and Sehwag score quick runs".
"He is still young at 33. Lara is 37. Tendulkar is a very fit man. I don't think he looks old or is getting old. He has got a lot of cricket left in him", he said.
He also had a word to say about the record total that South Africa chased. "This sends a message to the world that any target is chaseable", Sehwag says, adding that some day teams may cross 450.
And if India was chasing 450 in an ODI, he says, "there is no option but to hit every ball. There is nothing to lose and
everything to gain. Ah, if I get that 450 target I will be the happiest man in the world," he said.
Sehwag was also in support of the increased use of technology. "If a bowler can appeal for a decision, why can't a batsman appeal against it. It is fair for both", he said. He was all for full usage of technology in cricket.
Sehwag sums up his cricketing philosophy thus: "whenever I play cricket I want to be just happy and make others happy."
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