Sharjah. Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag won the hearts of everyone at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium where as brand ambassador of the Ten Premier League (10PL) he was the guest of honour to give away the prizes.

Hailing from an ordinary middle class family and reaching heights of international fame, Sehwag’s heart still beats for those who play gully cricket dreaming of becoming top stars.

Now Sehwag is on a mission. He wants youngsters not to struggle like he did as a kid by having to travel for hours to get proper cricket coaching.

Speaking to Gulf News, Sehwag said: “I have opened a school called Sehwag International School to realise my father’s dream. When I was young I had to travel nearly three hours one way to get coaching. I used to spend nearly six hours travelling. My father then told me that if I become a good player and earn some money, open an institution where kids can study, stay and play as well.” Sehwag’s father Krishan Sehwag died in 2007 but the Indian opener carried his father’s dream.

“The school is in Jhajjar, two hours drive from Delhi airport. It’s a 23-acre campus and I have made a nice education building with sports facilities like football, swimming, basketball, volleyball, badminton, lawn tennis, squash, wrestling and boxing. I have 182 students in boarding now and kids comes from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kuwait, Dubai, Nepal, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh. It is a boarding school and fees is among the lowest. All the sports have individual coaches and for cricket there are level one and two coaches. From the school website www.sisj.in. one can know more about my efforts.”

For Sehwag, the visit to Sharjah Cricket Stadium was special. It was the innings of his idol Sachin Tendulkar against Australia in 1998 that inspired him to become a destroyer of bowlers. “I will never forget those two centuries that Tendulkar scored here against Australia. That is the best knock I have seen on television.”

Sehwag revealed that years later when he got to bat alongside Tendulkar in international matches, his idol used to guide him. “Tendulkar had always a word of advice. He used to tell me visualise, practice hard and make sure head stays in one position and check my grip and backlift after every match.”

So what is Sehwag advice to those who want to become another Sehwag? “Play hard, work hard, listen to your heart. Know your weakness and strengths and work on your strengths and weakness and maybe you can achieve your dream.”