'A Coach Should Be A Friend'

“Test cricket has always remained the same, but the batsmen’s thinking has changed because of a lot of Twenty20 cricket. Now they take more risks in Test matches,” says Virender Sehwag in a chat with Sudatta Mukherjee.

- Sudatta Mukherjee

He is a lot more relaxed and witty now. When asked what is more exciting,playing a quick-fire innings in limited-overs cricket or scoring a triple hundred in Tests, Virender Sehwag answers, “Getting 1,000 re-tweets.”

At a time when world cricket is busy comparing the qualities of batsmen such as Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli, the former India opener is entertaining fans on Twitter with his one-liners.

Speaking to Sportstar during his recent trip to Chennai, Sehwag touches upon a variety of subjects like the role of a coach in cricket, Anil Kumble as India’s coach, pinkball cricket and much more.

Question: You come across many young cricketers today. Do you see any difference in their approach from the time you started playing cricket?

Answer: Cricket is the same as it was then, only the thinking has changed. Nowadays, in Test cricket, we see openers playing over the covers, or over slips, playing upper cuts and getting to their centuries with sixes. It is a good thing that they are changing their thinking and not the game of cricket. Test cricket has always remained the same, but the batsmen’s thinking has changed because of a lot of Twenty20 cricket. Now they take more risks in Test matches.

Now there are plenty of T20 leagues creating opportunities for the youngsters. However, most of the leagues are creating batsmen rather than bowlers. Is it affecting cricket overall?