Virender Sehwag Overlooked: Ravi Shastri Claims Murali Vijay as India’s Best Test Opener After Sunil Gavaskar

The best opening batsman in Indian history is without a doubt Sunil Gavaskar. In the history of test batting, The Little Master blazed new ground. The fact that the living legend did all of this without donning a helmet and while going up against some of the all-time great fast bowlers, like Andy Roberts, Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, and Malcolm Marshall, says volumes about his greatness. It doesn’t matter that he became the first batter to surpass 10,000 runs in Test cricket, striking 36 hundreds. But who is ranked second on the list, with Gavaskar at the top? The only Indian batsman with two triple hundreds is Virender Sehwag, who has amassed over 8500 runs at an average of over 50 and 23 centuries in Test matches. Naturally, the first player that springs to mind is him. But wait a moment. According to Bharat Arun’s admission, Murali Vijay holds the distinction over former India head coach Ravi Shastri.

“Murali Vijay was a batter I saw in college if you want me to mention someone who I knew at a young age. I suggested he join a different first-division squad. That was the beginning of the voyage. Ravi [Shastri] says that Murali Vijay is the best Test opener for India since Sunil Gavaskar. And for today, that’s a big compliment. Thus, I can say that I have had excellent relationships with Vijay, and he is one of my favorite players,” the former bowling coach for India stated.

Sehwag vs Vijay

Between 2008 and 2018, Vijay represented India in 61 Test matches. He opened the inning 100 times and scored 3880 runs, mostly from positions one or two. This included a best of 167 against Australia in Hyderabad, along with 12 hundred and 15 fifties. During his tenure as an India opener, Vijay amassed four scores of 150 or more. During the 2014 tour, he scored an incredible 146 against England on a somewhat green Nottingham surface, and he backed that up with another elegant 144 against Australia in Brisbane. Even though India lost both Test matches, the country’s diehard cricket supporters still remember Vijay’s innings with nostalgia.

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It is impossible to dispute Sehwag’s enduring influence on Indian cricket. Indeed, Vijay took control following the initial combination of Sehwag and Gambhir, as he and Viru produced several noteworthy partnerships. Between 2013 and 2018, India discovered a dependable opening combination in Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, who went on to amass 1500 runs together, including two centuries and five fifty partnerships with a best of 289 runs.