“I wouldn’t have applied for Team India’s head coach role if Virat Kohli…,” Virender Sehwag discloses what happened after Kohli’s fallout with Anil Kumble
Kumble was appointed as India's head coach in June 2016. He was replaced by 1983 World Cup-winning champion Ravi Shastri after India's defeat against Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.
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Virender Sehwag; Virat Kohli
It’s well known about infamous fallout between the then head coach Anil Kumble and former India captain Virat Kohli. But recently, former India opener Virender Sehwag revealed that he was approached by Virat Kohli and the then Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Amitabh Choudhary to take up the job of head coach after Kumble.
“I wouldn’t have applied if Virat Kohli and then BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary hadn’t approached me,” Sehwag told News18 India.
“We had a meeting, and he (Choudhary) told me that things weren’t working out between Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble we want you to take the coaching position,” Sehwag added. He further said that he was asked to travel to West Indies with the team after the expiry of Kumble’s contract after the Champions Trophy in 2017. But he didn’t agree because he wanted his own choice of the assistant coach, bowling coach, batting coach and the fielding coach, which he didn’t get so he didn’t travel to West Indies.
Anil Kumble was appointed as India’s head coach in June 2016. He was replaced by 1983 World Cup-winning champion Ravi Shastri after India’s defeat against Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.
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Virender Sehwag opines that no player from the current Indian team bats like him
Sehwag was known for his fearless approach to cricket, and is considered one of the greatest openers in cricket history. He was the first Indian cricketer to slam a 300 in Test and the only Indian batter to have slammed two triple centuries in Test cricket. He also has an ODI double ton to his name. His 319 against South Africa was also the fastest triple century in international cricket, as he reached the 300-run mark in just 278 balls.
During that same interview with News18 India, Sehwag stated that no player in the team can bat like him. But he thinks young guns Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant are a bit close to him in Test cricket.
On Pant, Sehwag said, “I think Rishabh Pant is a little bit like me in Test cricket but he is satisfied with 90-100 but I used to get satisfied with 200, 250, and 300.“
Sehwag was part of the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 World Cup winning teams. He played 104 Tests (8586 runs), 251 ODIs (8273 runs), and 19 T20Is (394 runs).
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Gouri Das
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