Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill spent 6 hours with me but did not ask anything about cricket: Virender Sehwag

IPL 2023: Virender Sehwag has shared an anecdote about meeting with young India openers Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill during an ad shoot. The former India opener shared the incident after Shaw got an opportunity to bat for Delhi Capitals (DC) for the first time after April 20.

The 23-year-old smashed 54 runs off 38 runs on his comeback and helped DC post 213/2 overs. In the first six outings in the IPL 2023, Shaw scored 12, 7, 0, 15, 0, and 13. Shaw was dropped as Phil Salt got the opportunity to open alongside Warner.

During his conversation, Sehwag was of the view that youngsters should try to capitalise on the experience of seniors and former cricketers by reaching out to them. However, he revealed that neither Shaw nor Gill talked to him once about cricket during an ad shoot which had them together for six hours.

Sehwag revealed how he approached Sunil Gavaskar during the 2003-04 when India toured Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Sehwag, the only India batter to score two triple centuries in Test cricket, minced no words in stating that talent alone cannot help in a successful cricket career.

"He (Prithvi Shaw) did an ad shoot with me. Shubman Gill was also there. None of them talked about cricket for once. We were there for 6 hours. If you want to talk to someone then you have to approach them," Sehwag told Cricbuzz.

"When I was new to the team, I wanted to talk to Sunny Bhai (Gavaskar), So I said to John Wright that 'I'm still a new player, I don't know whether Sunny Bhai will meet me or not', but you should organise that meeting. So Wright organised a dinner in 2003-04 for me and I also said that my (opening) partner Aakash Chopra will also come so that we can talk about batting.

"So he came and had dinner with us. So, you have to make that effort. Sunil Gavaskar won't make an effort to talk to Sehwag or Chopra. You have to request him," Sehwag added.

Sehwag went on to reveal how the suggestions from the batting great helped him and his opening partner Aakash Chopra. Sehwag top-scored for India in the series. He piled up 299 runs in four matches at an average of 42.71.

“He gave his input and we talked for a long time. And we were rewarded for that conversation. But you have to put in that effort. Gavaskar will never make an effort to talk to Virender Sehwag or Aakash Chopra. So one has to make a request for that.

"If Shaw handed such a request so I'm sure someone would have...he is playing for Delhi, so if you wanted to talk, he should have handed a request to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of DC. In cricket, no matter how much talented you are. If you are not mentally up, if you are not fit mentally or don't tune your mind. Then nothing can be done,” Sehwag said.

Shaw, who made his Test debut in 2018, has played 5 matches in the longest format till date. He has represented India in six ODIs and one T20I. He last played for the Men in Blue in July 2021. With the emergence of Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, the Mumbai batter has fallen down in the pecking order.