Sehwag wants to play for 'another two-three years'

Virender Sehwag has no plans to end his career in the near future, although he last played for India nearly two years ago. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Sehwag revealed he was keen to play for "another two-three years" before considering retirement. The 36-year old said he was still "enjoying playing the game" and will have no regrets if the opportunity to play international cricket doesn't come again.

"As a cricketer, everybody has a dream to play for your country," Sehwag said. "When I took up cricket seriously, I wanted to play for India. When my dream was achieved, I thought what next? Then a fellow cricketer told me, 'playing for India is easy, playing for 10-15 years is difficult'. Then I changed my dream to play 100 Test matches. I achieved that as well. Now there is nothing to achieve, so I am just enjoying things."

Speaking before the World Cup probables - from which he was omitted - were announced, Sehwag was asked if he would be fine if the selectors don't consider him for a national recall. He shrugged and cheekily said, "Yes, whose loss?

"You should be happy in your life. Cricketers are worried about their milestones, worried that they should score 5000-10,000 Test runs but I am not fussy. I played 100 Tests and I am still playing the game, that's what I want to do.

"If I retire today or after two years, does it make any difference? Not in my life. Does it make a difference if I score 8000 or 10,000 runs in Test cricket? Not in anybody's life. Even if I make 10,000 runs, who will be happy? Only me, maybe, because people don't care about 8000 or 10,000 or 15,000 runs. It is about individual satisfaction."

Since being axed from the team after the second Test of Australia's tour to India in 2013 in Hyderabad, Sehwag hasn't made a compelling case for a comeback. In 12 first-class matches since, he has made 425 runs at an average of 25 with one century. Since his previous ODI in January 2013, he has scored 228 runs in 11 List A matches at 20.72 with two half-centuries.

"My approach is the same. Yes, I am not able to give the kind of performances that I used to," Sehwag said. "If you look at my first-class stats, if I score runs I score them quickly, if I get out, I get out quickly. I have never tried to change my game. In some matches, I told myself to give some time, scored just five runs in 36 balls on green wickets in Delhi where it is difficult to score. It happens. When you are growing older, you have the experience and that can help you score but it's not possible to get a hundred every time you go out there."

While Sehwag will be batting in the middle order for Delhi this season, he says he would have no problems opening if asked to. "Last season I batted everywhere - opening, one down, two down and three down," he said. "It doesn't matter to me where I am batting. If the selectors ask me to open the batting, I will do that. When I started playing for India, I was a middle-order batsman, the team management asked me to open the batting and I did that. If somebody asks me to, I will, I have done it in the past. I open for Kings XI (Punjab)."

While admitting that he "missed" being part of the India dressing room, Sehwag said he prays and hopes the team "wins whatever match they are playing in."

"I fight with my sons when they say, 'Dad you are not playing, (so) the Indian team should not win'. The priority is that the country should win, it doesn't matter who is playing. I miss the dressing room but at least somebody else is playing and contributing to the team, winning matches. I am happy about that."

Having been on three previous tours to Australia, Sehwag said that India's young batting line-up will need to be "given time" before they start delivering results. "I think we have a very good bunch of players, we have to give them time. On my first tours of England, South Africa and Australia, I managed to score a hundred but in the other innings I didn't score runs. If you look at the old days also when players came in, they failed in 15 innings but they still played 100 Test matches."