Virender Sehwag or Rohit Sharma: Ex-Pakistan bowler votes HIM as Team India's greatest opener

Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma celebrate (File Photo)

Virender Sehwag has been one of fans' favourite from the early 2000s and its primarily due to his destructive batting approach, which even the greatest bowlers feared. 

The right-handed batsman, who used to open India's attack with Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar on the other end, went after the bowlers right after the word go. Sehwag punching the ball on the off-side is a sight to remember for all the fans and many still hail the 2007 and 2011 World Cup winner as India's best opener. 

Former Pakistan cricketer Saqlin Mushtaq in a recent video, released on his YouTube channel, lauded Sehwag's approach at the top and credited his style of playing as the reason behind the rise in Team Indian as a batting powerhouse. 

During the process, he also compared Sehwag with current opener Rohit Sharma and said even if the latter's record is better, the foundation of creating pressure on the bowler's mind with an attacking approach was laid by the former India opener, who also is the first Indian batsman to score a triple century in Test cricket. 

"Keep in mind that the impact Virender Sehwag had on the world, the style in which he played, the brand of cricket he played, a lot of players from India benefitted from it. The manner of batting he showed the world changed Indian cricket's mindset and that of its cricketers," said Saqlain.

"Sehwag lifted the bar and showed the way with his self-belief. Sehwag scored a double century in ODIs so players believed it could happen, like Rohit Sharma. In fact, Rohit must have learnt a lot watching Sehwag bat." 

"Rohit's stats may look prettier than Sehwag but Viru he had a role behind it. He played for himself, the country and changed the thinking of the players that came after him. Before him, only 1-2 players like Sir Viv who used to play that brand of cricket in ODIs and ruled over the world, and Zaheer Abbas. They ruled the world and similarly, Sehwag also dominated world cricket," added the former Pakistan spinner, who has featured in 49 Tests for his country. 

In we ponder about Saqlin's claims, the former Pakistan cricketer couldn't be wrong. Sehwag hung his boots with a strike rate of 82.2 in Tests, 104.3 in ODIs and 145.3 in T20Is.