Superstitions can play an important role in the success of many sportspersons across the world. Many start a particular type of practice and repeat it before their games, irrespective of its influence on a game. One example is India's Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who made it a habit to wear his left pad first before going to the crease.
During the 2011 ICC World Cup final, Tendulkar forced Virender Sehwag to sit beside him; even stopping his fellow opening partner to use the washroom as former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir forged a partnership in the 275-run chase. On Saturday, however, Sehwag revealed a bizarre superstition of one of India's former domestic cricketers – Rajeev Nayyar.
“There was this player named Rajeev Nayyar in Himachal Pradesh. He used to wear the same t-shirt again and again. It wasn't as if he would score whenever he wore that shirt, but he felt comfortable and he was superstitious about it; he felt he would score runs if wears the shirt,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz during an interview with Ajay Jadeja and host Gaurav Kapur.
“So, when we were playing in the North Zone, we tore that shirt because we knew when Delhi and Himachal would meet, he would play wearing the same shirt! So we tore that shirt so that he doesn't score against us,” Sehwag said.
Nayyar was a regular for Himachal Pradesh at the domestic level. He holds the record for the longest innings in First-Class cricket (271 for Himachal Pradesh against Jammu & Kashmir in 1999), playing 1,015 minutes during a Ranji Trophy game. Nayyar ended his domestic career with 6,8881 runs in 96 First-Class games.
India's former star opener revealed that the batter used to “wear the same T-shirt again and again,” because it made him comfortable. Sehwag also narrated the story talking about his own superstition of “writing” about his mindset every time he took the field.
