Flamboyant opener Virender Sehwag says the Indian captaincy won’t change his daredevil batting style.
Sehwag will captain India for the fourth time in a Test when the battered tourists meet Australia at Adelaide Oval from Tuesday.
But the 33-year-old opener is adamant he doesn’t want the job full-time.
“Right now, no,” Sehwag told reporters in Adelaide on Monday.
“Right now I am just concentrating on this Test match.
“And it (captaincy) is not in my hands, it’s the selectors’ job.”
Sehwag said he felt no added heat by replacing regular skipper MS Dhoni, who was suspended for the Adelaide Test because of slow over rates.
“I don’t think there is any pressure on me when I am doing captaincy,” Sehwag said.
“It’s just the responsibility of a senior player to go out there and just concentrate on your batting and perform better, so hopefully I will do well in this game.”
Sehwag, assuming control of a wobbly Indian outfit facing a 4-0 series defeat in Australia, has made just 118 runs at an average of 19.66 this tour.
But the strokeplayer said his audacious style wouldn’t by altered by his leadership role.
“I don’t think so,” Sehwag said bluntly when asked if he needed to change his risky game because of the captaincy.
“I think I have to show some patience against their bowling attack, because if I show some patience maybe I will get some balls to hit for boundaries.
“It’s a challenge.
“It’s a great bowling attack which everybody loves to play against … whenever you do well against Australia, people appreciate it and really praise your performance.”
And neither was Sehwag going to offer advice to battling batsmen such as Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.
“They are well experienced batting line-up so they know what to do,” he said.
“We have lost the series but there is a pride for team India.
“I feel bad because we have done well overseas in the last 10 years and certainly in the (past) two (overseas) tours we are not doing well, so we are not living on expectations.
“But we are working hard. We’re trying hard. We are doing everything that we can.
“Sometimes it clicks and sometimes (it) doesn’t, this is a part of life, a part of cricket.”
