But whose idea was it to have Sehwag open batting? The answer to that may surprise many.
During a chat with former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar a few years ago, Sehwag revealed who suggested to the Indian team management that Viru, as he is fondly called by fellow players and fans, should be pushed up the order.
“Saat number pe tu kya kar raha tha? (what were you doing at number seven in the batting order),” Shoaib asked Sehwag, while talking about an India vs Pakistan match in 1999, where Shoaib had dismissed him.
“I used to bat in the middle order at that time,” Sehwag replied.
Reacting to that, Shoaib further asked: “Whose idea was it to have you open the batting?”
“Yeh idea tha Zaheer Khan ka, he gave the suggestion to (then captain) Sourav Ganguly, who had me open the innings,” Sehwag revealed.
Sehwag & Akhtar after Champions Trophy 2017.Love IndiaPakishtan
Sehwag started batting at the top in the ODIs during the tri-series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand in July 2001, when an injury to Sachin Tendulkar led to Sehwag being pushed up to open alongside Ganguly. He first opened in Tests during India’s tour of England in 2002.
Ever since assuming the role of an opener, Sehwag didn’t look back and went on to become one of the most successful opening batsmen in the history of cricket before retiring towards the end of 2015.
He played 104 Tests and 251 ODIs, and was part of India’s champion teams of 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup.
Sehwag also played 19 T20Is and scored 394 runs, including two fifties.
In ODIs, he scored 8273 runs at an average of 35.05, including 15 hundreds and 38 fifties.
In Tests, he accumulated 8586 runs at an average of 49.34, including 23 hundreds and 32 fifties.