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Australia opener David Warner has credited Virender Sehwag for inspiring him to transform his game, and said the Indian cricketer had foreseen his Test debut two years ago.
The dashing 25-year-old batsman, known for his big hitting abilities in the shorter versions of the game, has been in irresistible form this year for his state New South Wales and Australia A and is all set to make his Test debut against New Zealand at Brisbane on Thursday.
With only 11 first-class matches under his belt, Warner has revealed that a discussion with his Indian Premier League side team-mate, Sehwag had made him believe in his abilities as a Test player.
"When I went to Dehli, Sehwag watched me a couple of times and said to me 'You'll be a better Test cricketer than what you will be a Twenty20 player'," Warner was quoted as saying by the Australian media.
"I basically looked at him and said 'Mate, I haven't even played a first-class game yet'," he added.
Sehwag, who will be a part of Indian squad for the upcoming Test tour of Australia this summer, has an outstanding strike rate of 82.12 in Tests, a facet which impressed Warner as he intends to adopt the attacking style of the flamboyant Indian opener.
"(Sehwag) always says that the more balls that you see you're going to be tempted to try and score runs but you've just got to keep in the back of your mind what your zones are," Warner said.
"He thinks it's exactly like One-day and Twenty20 cricket. If it's in his zone, he backs himself.
"He's a great player that I've looked up to in the last couple of years, especially when I've been training with him and seeing how he goes about his stuff," he said.