(Reuters) – Virender Sehwag, one of India’s greatest opening batsmen, has retired from international cricket, he said on Twitter yesterday.
A destructive hitter at the top of the order with a penchant for striking boundaries, Sehwag played his last test against Australia in 2013.
“I hereby retire from all forms of international cricket and from the Indian Premier League,” the 37-year-old said.
The Delhi-born player is the only Indian batsman to make two test triple centuries and he became the second player from any country, after his compatriot Sachin Tendulkar, to score a double hundred in a one-day international.
He was a member of India’s victorious squads in the 2007 World Twenty20 and the 2011 World Cup.
Sehwag played 104 tests, scoring 8,586 runs at an average of 49.34, including 23 centuries.
He also appeared in 251 one-day internationals, making 8,273 runs.
(Reuters) – Factbox on Virender Sehwag, one of India’s greatest opening batsmen, after he announced his retirement from international cricket yesterday:
* Born on Oct. 20, 1978 at Najafgarh, Delhi.
* Made one-day International debut against Pakistan in 1999 as an all-rounder batting at No .7.
* Scored maiden ODI century from 69 balls against New Zealand in 2001.
* Scored a century on test debut against South Africa in 2001.
* In 2008 Sehwag scored the quickest triple-hundred in a test match, taking 278 deliveries against South Africa in Chennai.
* He scored the quickest ODI century by an Indian against New Zealand in 2009, taking just 60 balls, a record which was broken by Virat Kohli four years later.
* In 2011 against West Indies, Sehwag became only the second batsman, after Sachin Tendulkar, to score 200 in an ODI.
* He has 23 centuries in test Cricket, including the only two triple centuries by any Indian batsman.
* Sehwag is one of the four batsmen in the test history to score two triple centuries, alongside Don Bradman, Brian Lara and Chris Gayle.
* He was a member of India’s victorious squads in the 2007 World Twenty20 and the 2011 World Cup.
* Sehwag played 104 tests, 251 ODIs and 19 T20Is, scoring over 17,000 international runs.
