NEW DELHI: Swashbuckling former India openerVirender Sehwag, who recently retired from international cricket, has lashed out at selectors who picked players under the influence of "people in power" and at inefficient running of state associations.
Asked if it's a problem that state associations were not run efficiently, Sehwag, who recently shifted to Haryana fromDelhi in domestic cricket, said, "Yes. It's not just Delhi.There are other associations which have problems.
"You need to change things at U-19 and U-16 level because that's problem area. If you pick over-age players, it is a problem that needs to be identified. If you have a playerwhose name and stature is big, you won't have this problem," he told 'Cricinfo'.
Sehwag said that he cannot become a selector as that could be a 'conflict of interest' as he has opened a school where young cricketers would be groomed but would love to bepart of a state association in another capacity.
"No, there is a conflict of interest. I have my SehwagInternational School (in Haryana). So I cannot be a part ofit. I cannot be a selector but if any association wants me to be a part of it, I would love to do that. There are other cricketers who have a reputation but they are not getting theopportunity to be a part of the selection panels.
"What is happening is that the guys in power introduce names to the selectors and the selectors then act according tothese people's whims," he said.
Sehwag, now 37, last played for India in 2013 afterscoring 8586 runs from 104 Tests and 8273 runs from 251 ODIs.
He might be known to have unflinchingly stuck to his 'see the ball and hit it' batting approach irrespective of matchsituations in his playing days, but Sehwag said he made changes in his techniques early in his career to emulateiconic Sachin Tendulkar.
"When I was growing up, I played a lot of 10- and 12-overgames, I would bat in middle order. I got only 10-odd balls toface and I tried to score as much as I could. I applied thesame approach in domestic and international cricket and peoplewere appreciating my strike rate being more than 80 or 90 inTest cricket," Sehwag said when asked if his approach changedhow batsmen opened the innings in a fundamental way.
"I was just playing my game and not thinking that I have to score quickly or do something different except when Ijoined the team and wanted to bat like Tendulkar. I realisedthere could be only one Tendulkar and I changed my stance andbacklift. I realised I should change my game and I did it. After that, I was playing with my own technique," he said.
Asked if there was only one Sehwag as well, he said,"Yes, because of my mindset and the impact I had on the teambut there was only one Tendulkar."