Virender Sehwag Talks about Sehwag International School

Virender Sehwag talks to NDTV about Sehwag International School and his journey from childhood to the current days. He goes down memory lane about when did he start playing, and what made him start this School. He also talks about the IPL season and his current cricketing career.

Virender Sehwag Presents the ‘Gift of Education’ to the Needy Child

For poverty-stricken but a bright 12-year-old Rishab, this would surely be the best gift of his life: free school education. And the gift has come from none other than celebrated cricketer Virender Sehwag, who offered free education to the child in his Sehwag International School (SIS), a multi-activity campus in Jhajjar, south of upscale Gurgaon in Haryana.

A student of class VII, Rishab was finding it difficult to sustain his education because of utter penury. So, his parents stumbled upon the idea of narrating his woes on a FM radio channel in the hope of getting some sponsors to keep their son's dream alive. Moved by his plight, the Radio Jockey (RJ) aired his story.

"I am desperate to continue my education, but I may not be able to do so because of financial constraints," said the child, narrating his woes. The RJ also made phone calls to a number of schools in Delhi, appealing to them to act as Samaritans and foot the child's education bill. However, the answer invariably was either "sorry" or total indifference from them.

Virender Sehwag Advocates for 'Creativity' As a Subject at SIS

Virender Sehwag

12-year-old Naresh Babu stood quietly at the reception area. It was his first day at the Sehwag International School (SIS) — owned, conceptualized and run by cricketer Virender Sehwag. And the presence of the former Indian opener at the premises made it quite an experience for Naresh and his father, both of whom had travelled from Patna.

Sehwag shook hands with them, and the office boy quietly passed on a miniature bat signed by the cricketer to Naresh. It was the youngster’s induction at the Sehwag’s education institute, a 23-acre property in Jhajjar, Haryana.

Viru, who was recently sold to Kings XI Punjab for `3. 2 crore at IPL 2014 auctions, is known as ‘sir’ here, a role he has quickly adopted, overseeing every detail with elan.

“Every student, irrespective of caste, creed, color or religion is welcome here,” says Sehwag, who visits the school at least once a week, to nurture his dream of turning the school into a successful endeavor.

In fact, this dream is that of his father, Krishan Sehwag. “When I was a kid, I spent time travelling the entire day by bus and my father would say, ‘you waste so much time in travelling. I wish we had a place where you could stay, study and play at the same time.’ When I was successful as a cricketer, he asked if I would now be able to provide children with such a facility,” he recalls.

Sehwag turned that dream into a reality when he was gifted land by Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and started SIS in 2011. In its fourth year, the institute has close to 390 students and over 35 faculty members.

Learn from experience

Unconventional has always been Sehwag’s middle name, and his interactions with students, whether in the classroom or in the sports field, stresses of learning more from experience than text books. “What extra can you learn from a book? You can learn what is written, but experience teaches you far more. If you are ever involved in a crisis, no book can tell you what to do. It is what you learn from it, that shapes your identity and character,” he explains and adds carefully. “I don’t want to preach to the kids. I want the children to be responsible themselves and take their own decisions.”

Elaborating further, he says, “I never tell them what to do. I share and motivate.” Wife Aarti is the chairperson and takes care of the finer details of the school like the menu for students for all meals or the activity chart that includes blindfold games, movies, pool parties, football, handwriting contests, nature walks — the aim is clearly towards overall development and not just academics.

SIS principal Singh Dhirendra Singh narrates an interesting story about the veteran cricketer. “One day Viru told us how he was rejected twice during the Under-19 trials and would not go to the trial the third time. ‘Six balls is all I get’, he told his coach, who was forcing him to try again. The coach said, ‘Viru, at least you have those six balls, what are you afraid of?’

This time, Viru slammed six sixes in that one over and the rest, as they say, is history. He is an inspiration and students and parents take pride in being associated with this school,” Singh says.
Sehwag spends time with students, but the dashing batsman is sometimes left stumped when they ask him difficult questions. “They can ask anything. One day they asked me about match-fixing, sometimes they want to know about my game,” the cricketer says.

Asked if he was a naughty child, Sehwag chuckles, “There are a lot of stories about me. I must’ve been up to something since my coaches had to tie a rope to my leg while I batted! I excelled at sports. Also I never failed in academics. It didn’t matter, whether I scored 90 marks or 50!” he winks.

Creativity as a subject

One of the most important subjects that Sehwag is contemplating is to introduce creativity at his institution. And the inspirations are his young sons, Aryavir and Vedhant.

“My kids are very creative. They do amazing things… sometimes they dress up like Hanuman or Arjun. They become mythological characters but then they give it a modern twist. If I ask them to narrate Romeo and Juliet, they present the story and characters in such a different manner!,” he exclaims.

He adds, “Their ideas are so modern. There is no end to creativity and we need to cultivate it. Creativity needs to be nurtured.”

Sehwag’s vision with SIS is to provide the future generation a place for all-round development. “I have had a successful cricketing career, and if this can turn out to be same, there’s nothing more than I can ask for,” he concludes.

I don’t want to pressurise my kids

The only Indian batsman to have scored two triple centuries in international test cricketer, Virender Sehwag, has his hands full with many things apart from cricket. The 35-year-old right-handed batsman, also a father of two sons. Aryavir, 6, and Vedant, 4, insists that his kids are too young to take up cricket seriously. “They are still very young and they keep hovering around different sports. One day it’s cricket, next it’s volleyball, then basketball and so on. I will not pressurize them into anything, because that’s how my parents brought me up. They will have the freedom to choose whatever they want to do in their lives,” says Sehwag. The cricketer who will also be seen playing for Punjab in the upcoming IPL, expects fans to cheer for him.

“My kids keep hovering around different sports. One day it’s cricket, next it’s volleyball, then basketball -Virender Sehwag, Cricketer”

“Whenever I’ve played for the country in Punjab, fans there (Mohali, Punjab) were brilliant. They always got behind me and cheered my name. I hope I get the same response when I play for them this time around too, “Viru says. Cricket and filial duties aside, the Nawab of Najafgarh is also a philanthropist. Fever 104 FM’s recent campaign to facilitate the education of underprivileged children struck a chord with Sehwag, who has decided to fund the entire education and boarding cost of a 12-year-old, boy, Rishabh, in his Sehwag International School. “I was touched by the initiative and I immediately called the FM channel, offering my help. Despite challenges, Rishabh really wants to study and that’s what moved me,” says Viru.

I Will Just Not Take Personal Criticism

His restrained and firm tone gives way to profound semantics as he confronts criticism and questions about his performance while defining his role as an educationist. Ever vigilant to ward-off any possibility of a controversy, cricketer Virender Sehwag speaks to Metro life about his present life and the past with nostalgia.“I studied at Arora Vidya School, till Class VIII. It was 500 meters away from my house and everybody at the school knew my family. I was a very average student in academics but was quite disciplined and focused. However, if asked to choose between classes or cricket, I would rather choose to play,” recalls the right-handed batsman who soon found his calling in the game and joined Surmount Club, Najafgarh.

In higher classes, his schooling shifted to G-Block Government School in Vikaspuri and he “had to travel for 40 minutes between the school and the academy. There was no place to play in school in those days. So though I convinced my father about joining the cricket academy, he used to be upset over me wasting too much time in travelling. One day he said, ‘If you get to play International cricket someday then do open a school where children can get educated and play too.’”The veteran cricketer fulfilled his father's dream when he set up Sehwag International School. Most of the students at his school consider him their idol but that doesn't encumber Sehwag.

“I don't feel pressurised since I have myself grown up watching Sachin (Tendulkar). It is a great feeling to be a motivation and inspiration for somebody.” As far as the ‘hero’ status is considered, Sehwag controls his emotions to say, “The whole nation is missing him. Sachin has taught me a lot of things and I feel lucky to have played with him when I joined the team. He still motivates me.” Especially in these difficult times when Sehwag’s performance is under scrutiny.

“There are highs and lows in everybody’s life. This season wasn't good for Wasim Jaffer either. It is part of life and we have to take it. If you are criticizing me for my poor performance, it is OK with me but if you criticize me on my personal reasons, I will just not take it,” he says in a matter- of-fact tone. His mechanism to cope with criticism is not unusual. “We don't watch news channels or read news papers at home. My kids watch cartoons and movies only. Not giving importance is the best way,” he says adding, “When you are in the low phase, one big achievement gives a (re) start.” Speaking of a possible comeback in the near future, he says, “No one can plan anything. I will try and give my 100 percent be it for Team India, T-20 or any other match because I love the game,” before heading to his fitness session.