Famous for putting on record honest and unsullied opinions, former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir once claimed that he and his long-time opening partner Virender Sehwag formed the best Indian opening pair of their times. Gambhir, who treats Sehwag like an elder brother, also labeled him as the greatest Test opener the country has ever produced.
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After former batter Navot Singh Sidhu’s retirement from international cricket, the Indian team had struggled for a long time to zero in on an opening pair in Test cricket. Although Sehwag cemented his spot at the top of the order in 2002, a settled opening pair was formed in 2004 when Gambhir joined him. Between 1999-2004, India tried 13 different players which included names like VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Wasim Jaffer, Aakash Chopra among others for the opener’s spot.
Gambhir, who opened with Sehwag on Test debut against Australia in Mumbai in 2004, provided hints of a new era in spite of an initial failure. That said, it wasn’t the first time when both of them were opening the batting at the highest level. For the unversed, they had opened together in ODIs in 2003.
Speaking particularly of Test cricket, they proved their class in just their second Test as openers on the back of combining for a 218-run opening partnership against South Africa in Kanpur.
Gautam Gambhir Had Claimed Him And Virender Sehwag To Be India’s Best Opening Pair
Having said that, there was a time in 2012 when Gambhir and Sehwag were facing a lot of criticism. Despite failing to stitch a single century stand in almost two years, Gambhir was still adamant that they were the best in the business in the format in the country.
“We still average 53 as an opening pair, which I think is one of the best when it comes to opening the batting in world cricket,” Gambhir had told PTI.
“There are not many opening pairs who have played for such a long time and have an average of 53 per innings.”
It is to be noted that the scrutiny was justified because the Australian tour was a disaster for both of them. Their highest partnership across eight innings was just 26 runs. However, Gambhir believed that having a century stand doesn’t really justify the quality of an opening combination.
Following this statement, the pair opened in just four more Tests against England. They added 134 runs in the very next innings but flopped throughout the rest of the series. Gambhir, who scored a couple of half-centuries, was dropped after the series which witnessed the last instance of the two Delhi batters opening the batting together for India in a Test.
Readers must note that the duo is the fifth-best (best among Indians) opening pair in the history of Test cricket. In all these years, they added 4,412 runs across 87 innings at an average of 52.52 including 11 century and 25 half-century partnerships. Going forward, it will be really difficult for any other Indian pair to break this record.
The Day Virender Sehwag Retired, Gautam Gambhir Had Labelled Him As India’s Greatest White-Ball Opener
Following Sehwag’s retirement from international cricket in 2015, Gambhir had labeled him as the best Indian opener in Test cricket. The carefree manner in which Sehwag played the game and the unmatched impact it created were reasons behind Gambhir’s claim. Pointing out how cricketers tend to modify their techniques especially during tough times, Gambhir highlighted how such was never the case with a relentless Sehwag.
“He [Virender Sehwag] is India’s greatest opening batsman and match-winner. There won’t be another player like Sehwag. Because you would rarely find someone with such an uncluttered and uncomplicated mind,” Gambhir had said as quoted by The Indian Express three years after the above mentioned statement.
As an opener, Sehwag scored 8,207 runs across 170 innings at an average of 50.04. He scored 22 centuries and 30 half-centuries in the process. The Indian fans must thank former captain Sourav Ganguly who promoted Sehwag to the opening position.
