Inimitable Sehwag And The Inevitable Runs

Inimitable Sehwag And The Inevitable Runs

Sehwag was not what a cricket connoisseur prescribed, he was what a crazy fan imagined. He did not change his game as per the format. No adaptation issues for him. He played the same way, irrespective of formats and conditions. If the ball was in his zone, he went for it; if it was not, he still went for it. His test match strike rate of 82 plus sustained over 100 tests at an average of almost 50 is mind-blowing.

The purpose of the bat is to score runs and that of the ball is to get hit. No one other than Virender Sehwag perhaps ever had such an uncomplicated view of the game of cricket. While opening batsmen traditionally were fed with the viewpoint that they had to take the shine off the new ball so that they were better placed to score runs and set up the game for batters to follow, Sehwag believed in taking the seam off. Give the first hour to the bowlers and the remaining are yours is what the world's greatest opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar said, but Sehwag simply reversed the rules and took the match away from the opposition in the first hour itself. If the ball was in his zone, he went for it; if it was not, he still went for it. He was the anti-thesis of Gavaskar, yet is counted as a co-great.

Opening batsmen before Sehwag became one were taught to defend well and rotate the strike. They were conditioned to play long innings and score a century over a day's play. Sehwag however believed in hitting the highway the moment he arrived at the crease. If he batted through the day in a test match, a double hundred was on cards. Against Sri Lanka in a test match in Mumbai (2009), he scored 284 runs in a day and missed out the next day to become the only batsman to score three triple hundreds in tests.

The philosophy of when you see the ball, hit the ball helped India beat Sri Lanka in a test match on their soil in 2008 only because while other batsmen succumbed to the magic of Ajanta Mendis in that series, Sehwag took him on to score a famous double century. He carried his bat through the innings, only the second one to do after the great Gavaskar. It is incredible that such a `high risk` batsman carried his bat while the `safer, technically sound` players found the Sri Lankan attack too hot to handle. While traditionally opening batsmen were trained to build an innings and set up a game, Sehwag set the game up upfront for his team with a blistering positive approach. If he scored, India were well and truly on the way. If he did not, there were always the greats like Dravid, Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Ganguly to follow. It is incredible that a middle order batsman asked to open the innings by his captain Saurav Ganguly for the first time in England in 2002 went on to become one of world cricket's most celebrated opening batsmen.

Sehwag inspired cricketers as well as cricket writers. One of the world's greatest cricket writers the late Peter Roebuck described Sehwag as `impudent but rarely imprudent`. Former England cricketer Dereck Pringle described Sehwag as somebody who bats as if needing to catch the last plane out of Kabul. Harsha Bhogle quotes John Wright as saying "Sehwag didn't redefine his game because of his batting position. He redefined the position with his batting."

The uncomplicated nature of Sehwag's mindset can be gauged from the fact that he looked at the ball, not at the bowler's reputation. None of the traditional orientation typically dished out to openers – watch the ball carefully, settle down, defend well, build an innings, respect the bowler's reputation. Viru simply came, saw and attacked. He did not take pressure, he put the pressure on the bowlers.

Sehwag losing his place in the Test side and subsequent retirement has robbed world cricket of a batsman who was both audacious and skillful. He was a wonder of sorts as pundits of the game would not have imagined a player with such less footwork and abhorrence for technique going on to become the Wisden Cricketer Of The Year for two consecutive years in 2008 and 2009 purely on his achievements as an opening batsman. Sehwag simply backed himself and his abilities. He had a technique of his own. He lived by the willow and preferred to fall aside by the willow. Till the end of his career, barring perhaps a pretentious attempt, he did not really reinvent himself. If he had, that would not have been Sehwag. While at the crease, he kept you on the edge of your seat. The moment he got out, you took a deep breath to extend your lifespan, at the same time feeling a void as the other batsmen would now bring you down to reality. Sehwag in full flow made you incorrectly believe run-making was as simple as gulping down a glass of water. As he walked back to the pavilion after yet another blitzkreig, the new batsman had the unenvious task of exposing his mortality as a batsman.

Sehwag was not what a cricket connoisseur prescribed, he was what a crazy fan imagined. He did not change his game as per the format. No adaptation issues for him. He played the same way, irrespective of formats and conditions. His test match strike rate of 82 plus sustained over 100 tests at an average of almost 50 is mind-blowing.

He was a true great of the game and the tributes that immediately followed his retirement announcement were testimony to the inspiration he provided to critics, experts, fans and cricketers alike. Here's saluting India's greatest match winner ever. Virender Sehwag, you will be missed in the battle between bat and ball which, at your peak, you won it easily and formidably.

Givers Gain

Givers Gain

BNI's founder Ivan Misner has created an organisation that is spiritual at its core and business-like in its working. It teaches the world everyday, you celebarte other people's success and they will celebrate you. BNI is not just about networking, it is an experience that you cannot afford to miss.

“The target given to me is very low. I can do far better than this.” No, this is not an overconfident salesperson speaking in a typical sales conference. This is a BNI meeting where the member is disappointed with the revenue target given to him by the leadership team, that too not in terms of what he will earn, but what he will give. Yes, you guessed it right, he is unhappy with the `Giving Target`, an unheard of philosophy for many. At BNI, members strive to fulfill their giving target, that is, the amount of business they will generate for their fellow members. They are not explicitly concerned about what they will receive, for that is being addressed by others.

BNI is a one of its kind networking forum for entrepreneurs, where business is purely generated through referrals. I joined BNI four months ago and I have been fascinated by what I see, experience, give and receive everyday. We meet once a week to generate referrals for our fellow members. It is fascinating to see how members compete with one another to give more.

The BNI philosophy is based upon the karma theory of what goes around, comes around. This essentially means if you give, you will receive – that is the law of life. If you do good to others, they will do good to you. It is a very selfless way of fulfilling one's selfish objectives. Yes, everyone joins BNI to make money, but quickly realise that the quicker way to receive abundance is to help fellow members earn the moolah. The beauty of the process is not who will make the first move. The system works to clockwork precision, with giving being the principal philosophy. No one waits for the other person to give first, they are more than eager to take the first step.

Before joining BNI, I knew that the way to become successful was to make others successful. But I did not know that this philosophy could be run as a system. Week after week, members strive to provide references to their colleagues not just because it may benefit them too eventually, but also because there is an inherent joy in giving. Appreciation and recognition platforms are skewed towards the givers. The maximum applause is reserved for the givers and contributors in the chapter. It is fascinating to see how even highly successful entrepreneurs happily submit themselves to a system which is not only demanding in terms of discipline – punctuality, attendance, etc – but also hold them accountable for their performance, primarily measured on giving parameters.

Having worked for a long time in the corporate world, I can understand the frustration that comes from always being under the scanner for achieving one's own performance targets. Here, it is different. Your targets are others' responsibility. Your responsibility is to enable others' targets. If every organisation looked to collaborate rather than merely internally compete, we'll have many more happy corporate professionals. BNI teaches the world everyday, you celebarte other people's success and they will celebrate you.

The thing that fascinates me about BNI is you can without any inhibition ask for help in getting business. It is not a typical social networking organisaton where people meet to socialise. Here, the members `also socialise`. Members go out of the way to ensure their colleagues get good referrals. While there is no guarantee of business conversion, you get tens of salespeople working for you by simply paying the yearly membership fee. The most proven way to get quality business is through referrals – not cold calls, not mailers, not advertisements. BNI has perfected the art of generating referrals by creating a water-tight yet dynamic system.

BNI's founder Ivan Misner has created an organisation that is spiritual in its core and businesslike in its working. He has ensured BNI not just helps members transact business, but also provides training on various aspects of giving and receiving business. The philosophy of give and take is institutionalised within BNI. The organisation has taken the age old philosophy out of the text book and converted it into a living phenomenon. It is indeed incredibly fascinating that across the world, once a week, entrepreneurs attend their respective chapter meetings to give, receive, bond and grow.

BNI is not just a business platform, it also brings together people with different personality traits to add to the overall strength and dynamism of each chapter. Here, business is the factor that gets people in, but it is bonding with fellow members that keeps them from going out. While business is what the organisation promotes, it is based upon the fundamental values of team work, care and empathy. BNI thus is not just about networking, it is an experience that you cannot afford to miss.