He has relinquished the Delhi Daredevils captaincy after last season but Virender Sehwag feels that his decision will have no bearing on his approach as he again shoulders the burden of being the batting mainstay of the franchise in the sixth edition of IPL.
"I don't think it matters whether I am captaining the side or not. Captaincy has never affected my game. I have never ever felt the pressure on my batting while leading the side," Sehwag told PTI in an interview here today.
"I have never felt any pressure as captain, my approach to batting has always remained the same", he said when asked whether Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene donning the mantle of captain will lessen the burden on him.
For Sehwag, captaincy and performance are two separate entities which should not be mixed with each other.
"I have always maintained that captaincy and performance are two separate issues altogether. If you talk about pressures of captaincy, then I had scored five consecutive half centuries during the last edition of IPL and the highest number of runs for Delhi Daredevils," he said.
Sehwag's five half-centuries in a row (he scored 495 runs last season) is an IPL record but he reckons that it might be surpassed this year.
"Someone can break it this year," he answered with a smile after his interaction with kids during NDTV's 'Marks for Sports' Campaign at Modern School (Barakhamba Road) ground.
Sehwag admitted that Kevin Pietersen, who is out with knee injury will be missed a lot as his contribution was immense in helping the team reach last four stage in the fifth edition of the cash rich league.
"KP is a big occasion player and he will certainly be missed but we have other players who can put their hands up and be counted. We have 10 quality foreign players and whoever replaces him in the XI will get an opportunity to make a name for himself on the big stage. If they can grab their chance and prove their worth, we can win the trophy."