Virender Sehwag told me I would be a better Test player: recalls David Warner

David Warner and Virender Sehwag (PC: Twitter)

David Warner, currently one of the best limited-overs batsmen in the world, is one of the few international cricketers who made their Test debut without playing domestic first class cricket. Warner was the first Australian cricketer in 132 years to make his Test debut before making his first class debut. Given his flamboyant style of batting, the opener, in his initial years in Australia’s Test team, was known for batting at a strike rate of 100 or above.

Warner on how Sehwag impacted his career

Recently, Warner recalled how former India cricketer Virender Sehwag was among the first ones to recognise his potential in the red-ball format. For starters, Warner played under Virender Sehwag in the Indian Premier League for the Delhi Daredevils. And that is when Sehwag told Warner that he could become a good Test player.

What Warner said:

“When I went to Delhi, Sehwag watched me a couple of times and said to me, ‘you’ll be a better Test cricketer than what you will be a T20 player’," 

"I basically looked at him and said, ‘mate, I haven’t even played a first-class game yet’. But he said, ‘all the fielders are around the bat, if the ball is there in your zone you’re still going to hit it. You’re going to have ample opportunity to score runs. You’ve always got to respect the good ball, but you’ve always got to punish the ball you always punish"

In 96 Test matches, Warner has scored 7817 runs including 24 centuries. He has scored the fourth-most centuries in Tests among active cricketers, only behind Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli, Joe Root and Steve Smith. 

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