Gambhir 'The Best ' after Gavaskar: Viru

Virender Sehwag has praised his Delhi Daredevils teammate and Team India's opening batsman Gautam Gambhir saying he is India's best ever opening batsman after Sunil Gavaskar.

Talking to the Hindu newspaper after arriving from New Zealand, Sehwag said "Gambhir is the only opener I have known who is at ease in any form of the game. Gavaskar was a great opener in Tests and one-dayers and Gambhir has adapted wonderfully to the T20 format too. He is just too good."

"He was such a delight. His form was awesome. Just see how he kept adapting. I can't think of anyone better than Gambhir in terms of technique, temperament and style. To me, he is the best opener India has had since Gavaskar."

Gambhir, with 445 runs in six innings at an average of 89, emerged as the leading run getter in the series against New Zealand and was adjudged the Man of the Series.

Sehwag shot down suggestions saying that he was the best opener after Gavaskar, instead he praised Gambhir saying that "See, I was a middle-order batsman who had to take over the opener's role for certain reasons. Gambhir is an opener. He has been excelling in all forms of the game. He is the best, not me," emphasised Sehwag.

Sehwag also felt that he would love to bat in the middle order but the team feels that he will be far more destructive as an opener, talking to the Indian Express newspaper he said, "In fact, till date, as an opener I am just doing a job given to me by the team management. Given a choice, I would happily slide down and play in the middle-order because that's where I belong. But right now, I have a job entrusted to me and I love the responsibility, so no regrets at all."

Sehwag also said he and his opening partner Gautam Gambhir motivated themselves by placing bets on who would score faster. "I believe that a sense of competition always helps achieve your best and so we indulge in these little games. I really teased him when I outscored him in the one-day series and he told me he would get back at me. After the Test series, he's teasing me about how many more runs he scored than me."

Gambhir, though, said he didn't believe in comparisons. "But having come from my favourite player it means a lot to me," he told PTI. "Sehwag is such a big player and that he feels so makes me really happy."

He also called his performance in the series "very satisfying". "I always wanted to do well abroad, I am very happy that I could do that." He rated his epic rearguard effort in the second Test in Napier his best Test innings.

It has been a dream run for Gambhir over the past year-and-a-half but he insisted that a lot more had to be achieved. "You can never be stagnant. You have to keep moving. You have to keep working on your game for your progress and move ahead."

Sehwag reflected on the series, "It showed that we are a compact team now. The batsmen and the bowlers complement each other. More than the batsmen, I would give credit to our bowlers, Zaheer and Harbhajan in particular. They were superb."