Star opening batsman Virendra Sehwag disappointed hundreds of his fans who had gathered in front of his house in Naya Bazar in Laxmi Gardens near the Delhi-Haryana border to greet him.
After landing in Delhi on Saturday evening along with his team mates, he was whisked out of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the car of Union Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma even as his father Kishen Sehwag, mother Krishna along with younger brother Vinod were anxiously waiting to welcome Virender.
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Krishna Sehwag has specially prepared kheer for her darling son who is getting married on April 22 in Delhi. "I have prepared kheer, halwa and some other dishes that he relishes," she said. But as the hours passed by, the food was getting cold and the family restless.
In fact, Vinod Sehwag prevented the cameraman of Aaj Tak from shooting in front of the house. Other media personnel too packed up in disgust and left the place after the family called the local police to disperse the crowed.
Rajesh Kumar had come all the way from Alwar district of Rajasthan to have a glimpse of the man who became the first Indian to score a triple hundred in Tests. "I started in the morning on Saturday and landed here with great difficulty. The family pushed the fans around and locked the gates as if we are going to take away something," he complained.
Arvind Pandey and Alok Kumar Pandey had travelled from Allahabad by the Prayagraj Express to reach Delhi on Saturday morning. "We are disappointed. The son's success seems to have affected the family," they said.
Mohammad Waga, Mohammad Yakub and their friends had come from Ajmersharif to Sehwag's house only to find the Delhi police pushing them out of the premises.
Amongst the crowd was Shashi Sharma, Sehwag's first coach. The international star batsman learnt cricket from his academy before moving on to A N Sharma who polished his techniques.
"These people should understand that we are preparing for his wedding. We have to distribute cards. How can he reach home in the absence of fool proof security?" pleaded Sehwag's father.
Asked why the family did not travel to Pakistan to join the star batsman like families of most of the cricketers, Kishen Sehwag said they rather enjoyed watching Veeru on television.
"He told us that he would call us and tell when to come. But we decided against going to Pakistan. He was all praise for the Pakistani hospitality. One thing I would like to share with you, if Sachin Tendulkar had not give my son the kind of support he (Sachin) did, perhaps Sehwag would never have reached the 300-mark.
"Sachin consistently went across and helped in calming his temper. Otherwise, this boy would have lost his cool and got out before reaching the historic landmark. Veeru himself told me about it," said the dotting father.
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