Sehwag set for dual role in MCL

Dubai - Former India opener appointed as captain and team director of Gemini Arabians

He might be known to have unflinchingly stuck to his 'see the ball and hit it' batting approach irrespective of match situations when facing the best of bowlers in his heyday. That's exactly how he handled the Press at the launch of the Gemini Arabians team at the Skydive Dubai on Saturday.
The swashbuckling batsman apart from leading the team in the Masters Champions League which gets underway on January 28 has also been entrusted with the role of Team Director.
However, when the Press approached him for some sound bytes they were quite stumped as the dashing opening batsman ensured that questions should pertain only to MCL. When prodded further to speak about India's current tour of Australia or the upcoming T20 World Cup in India, he flatly refused. If none of the bouncers from Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar could ruffle his feathers, then getting an answer from the Nawab of Najafgarh seemed a futile exercise.
As if batting with a straight bat, the 37-year-old said: "If Sehwag has said no then even the President or the Prime Minister cannot make me speak. I'm here to talk only about the MCL and my team Gemini Arabians and nothing else."
So the topic shifted to his role as a Team Director of Gemini Arabians and the MCL.
"The MCL is a great opportunity for cricketers who have retired or are about to retire. It gives them a chance to extend their careers and I am lucky to be a part of it. "I'm also honoured to have been made the Captain and the Team Director of Gemini Arabians," added Sehwag.
"My role as Team Director will be to ensure that the players arrive on time and the practice facilities are available to them. My role is also to look after the team, make sure that bowlers are provided if some player wants extra hits in the nets. "I have to plan team strategies and discussions first with the team owners and later with the players," said the player who scored 8,586 runs from 104 Tests and 8,273 runs from 251 ODIs.
The flamboyant batsman said it won't be a problem handling legends like Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan or Saqlain Mushtaq.
"As professionals we are used to playing in different situations and with players from different countries. I have played 'with' and 'against' most of the players in my team. They are all good human beings and I'm sure they will have their views and we will have ours but we will make sure that all are made comfortable and the game is played in the right spirit," the bespectacled Sehwag said on the sidelines of the launch.
Coming to T20 and how it has changed cricket, he said, "Every format has a different role. If you play Test matches and then switch to T20s immediately it is difficult but if you play Tests, followed by ODIs and then T20s I think it is easier."
A firm believer of 'if there is a ball to be hit, just hit it' and that's what Sehwag's advice is to youngsters. "It doesn't matter what format you are playing or what colour the ball is, cricket remains the same. It's how you go about playing the game. Look at David Warner he just plays all the formats in the same manner and is successful. So whether it's the white ball or coloured ball as a batsman one has to adapt," he concluded.
clareto@khaleejtimes.com