I realised there could be only one Sachin Tendulkar, says Virender Sehwag

New Delhi: One of India's most successful ever cricketer Virender Sehwag hung up his boots from international cricket and the Indian Premier League in 2015.

The dashing cricketer, who batted alongside idol Sachin Tendulkar in the ALL-Stars Cricket League in November 2015, stated that there is only one Sachin Tendulkar in the game.

In an exclusive interview to Cricinfo, Sehwag said that when he joined the Indian team, he wanted to bat like Tendulkar. From there on, he realised there could be only one Tendulkar and that made him change his stance and backlift.

Viru told Cricinfo that, “I was just playing my game and not thinking that I have to score quickly or do something different except when I joined the team and wanted to bat like Tendulkar. I realised there could be only one Tendulkar and I changed my stance and backlift. I realised I should change my game and I did it. After that, I was playing with my own technique.”

Sehwag added that he realised he should change his game and batted with his own technique.

The Delhi batsman made his Test debut for India in 2001 against South Africa and shared a valuable partnership with Tendulkar as both batsmen went on to slam centuries.

Sehwag and Sachin are widely regarded as one of India's most successful opening pairs in ODIs.

The 37-year-old cricketer, who plays for Haryana in India's domestic circuit, also said that a cricketer only realises his impact after retirement.

When asked why he decided not to play the lucrative Indian Premier League, Sehwag said that he didn't want a youngster to miss a chance of getting into the Indian team. According to Sehwag, Indian players play in the IPL to get into the national side and since he retired from international cricket, there was no point in playing in the T20 tourney.

Sehwag will next be seen in action in the upcoming Masters Champions League (MCL).