When Virender Sehwag adviced Ross Taylor to bat like ‘he’s eating prawns’

Virender Sehwag gave the hilarious batting advice to Ross Taylor when both players were part of the Delhi franchise in the IPL.


Ross Taylor and Virender Sehwag while playing for Delhi in IPL 20212. AFP

Ross Taylor, who bid adieu to his 16-year cricketing career in 2022, has opened Pandora’s Box with his autobiography — Ross Taylor: Black & White, written with Paul Thomas — that has made some shocking and amusing revelations.

Taylor, who is of Samoan heritage, in his book has claimed that he faced racism in the New Zealand dressing room. He also revealed that while playing from Rajasthan Royals in IPL in 2011 he was slapped by a RR owner after getting out on a duck in a match.

In another part of the autobiography, the Kiwi batting great has narrated one of the most interesting pieces of batting advice that he ever got.

Taylor joined Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2012 for US$1.3 million and was struggling for runs in one of the matches when Indian legend Virender Sehwag, his then teammate, asked him to bat as he enjoys himself while eating prawns.

Sehwag’s advice came after the Indian had witnessed the New Zealander enjoy prawns at his restaurant on the eve of the match.

Read: ‘Too polite to turn us down’: Ross Taylor reveals moment when he asked Rahul Dravid out for coffee

“We had a memorable night at Sehwag’s restaurant. A lot of the guys liked their football so we were watching Manchester City play Queens Park Rangers on a big screen. It was the final round of the Premier League and Sergio Ag?ero scored in stoppage time to give City a 3-2 win and their first title for 44 years. The food was fantastic, particularly the prawns. I couldn’t stop eating them but didn’t realise Sehwag was aware that I was making a pig of myself,” Taylor wrote in his autobiography, an excerpt of which was published on Stuff.co.nz.

“We played the next day. Sehwag was smacking it to all parts, making it look easy. The overseas batters, me included, were struggling. I was feeling nervous because I was on big money and knew I had to deliver. The pressure was on when I went in to bat, but Sehwag was so relaxed: he glove-punched me and said, ‘Ross, just bat like you’re eating prawns.’ It was like cricket was a hobby and he was just playing for fun. From then on, whenever our paths crossed, he would remind me about the prawns.”

Taylor only played one season for Delhi scoring 256 runs in 16 matches.

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