IPL 2018: Virender Sehwag upbeat about Punjab

Having seen Virender Sehwag as a middle-order batsman or the see-ball-hit-ball opener or as a mentor, it was a surreal experience to watch the swashbuckling opener sit down calmly beside a table and sipping in his favorite drink - chai - all suited and booted. In fact he was so happy putting on his suit that he opted out of putting on the jersey of his IPL team Punjab. He is not the king of Najafgarh for nothing.

Sehwag was his usual chirpy self-cracking jokes and pulling legs of the newly-appointed skipper Ravichandran Ashwin. As I got comfortable around Sehwag and began with my first question, "You went all out at the Indian Premier League auctions. Do you think you have the best team to get you that elusive title?" Apt came his reply. "Of course. We spent the money to get the right squad. We have an able skipper in Ash (Ravi Ashwin) and have bolstered our Indian pool of players by picking up some really good lads at the auctions."

True, the Punjab side always flaunted international players like David Miller, Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey, Mithcell Johnson but somehow missed out on Indian talents. Axar Patel was the lone player retained by the franchise co-owned by Priety Zinta. But this time around the franchise has put in money to get some true Indian talent. The notable Indian talents in the Punjab side, along with the skipper himself and Patel, are Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Yuvraj Singh, Mohit Sharma.

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And Agarwal has been in the purplest patch of his life, hitting more than 2000 runs in the domestic circuit in just 32 innings at an average of 67.56. And Sehwag is more than elated to have him in the side. "I am very happy to have someone like Mayank in our side. He is a very good talent and has a good future ahead of him. He is aggressive top the order and can control the innings too. So it's good to have a character like him on our side," the mentor quipped.

The auctions, however, did spring a surprise or two. And one of them was the curious case of Chris Henry Gayle going unsold. "Well, to be honest, I was surprised that Gayle went unsold. And when he came back into the auction pool in the second round we were more than happy to snap him at his base price," the surprised 39-year-old said.

A skipper plays an important role once the players hit the greens, unlike football. So have Punjab really found the leader they were looking for in Ashwin? "Of course. That's the reason we went after him. He has always had that quality to lead a team but sadly he could not get that opportunity. And we are very confident that he will lead the team with utmost responsibility," the confident mentor said.

It will be interesting to see as to how the former Chennai player turns up in red. Will it be whistle podus for him in the reds or will it be an uphill task? Only time will tell.