Kolkata: Few surnames in Indian cricket arrive carrying as much baggage as legacy. Sehwag and Dravid are two of them. Now, nearly a generation later, they are back on the same India roster—not as Virender and Rahul, but as their sons in the under-19 squad.
On Thursday, Aaryavir Sehwag and Anvay Dravid were named in India’s under-19 squad for the three-match one-day series against Australia under-19, beginning September 18. Neither is in the multi-day squad, but their selection is significant enough to stir memories of an era when their fathers made Australia one of the great stages of Indian cricket’s renaissance.
The senior Dravid and Sehwag together played for India for the last time in the Adelaide Test in January, 2012.
This is the maiden U-19 callup for Aaryavir, whose path already contains flashes that make the comparisons inevitable. The teenager made his Delhi U-19 debut in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy in 2024, scoring 49 against Manipur. A year later came the innings that really put his name into circulation—297 for Delhi U-19 against Meghalaya, also in the Cooch Behar Trophy.
He stepped into senior cricket with West Delhi Lions in the Delhi Premier League, opening the batting like his father, and wowing audiences with identical square drives and cover drives just a few days back.
Those video clips, naturally, triggered the temptation to look for Virender in Aaryavir—the attacking instinct, the willingness to hit through the line, the sense that a ball is there to be struck rather than merely respected. But Aryavir has to build his own evidence and forge his path himself.
A wicketkeeper batter, Anvay’s journey has been quieter but no less substantial. The younger son of Rahul Dravid has captained Karnataka U-19 and accumulated 220 runs in six matches in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, averaging 55. His unbeaten 82 against Himachal Pradesh helped Karnataka chase 236, and his performances earned him an India U-19 call-up earlier this year.
Then came a useful reminder that this is a different but equally significant journey. On his India U-19 debut against Sri Lanka in July, Anvay scored 87 from 67 balls, with nine fours and a six, helping India recover from 81/4 with a 145-run partnership with Arjun Rajput.
That they have been picked together for a series against Australia adds even more intrigue and anticipation. For Australia were almost a recurring character in their fathers’ greatest stories. Dravid’s 180 at Eden Gardens in 2001 formed part of the extraordinary comeback that ended Australia’s 16-Test winning streak.
Three years later, in Adelaide, his unbeaten double century helped India secure another famous victory; he finished the 2003-04 Australian series with 619 runs and was named player of the series. Sehwag supplied the fireworks, scoring 195 in two sessions at the MCG in the same tour, finishing with 464 runs. Not one to care for doing what was expected, Sehwag was one of the reasons India became resilient tourists for more than a decade at the turn of the century.
The surnames return together, but in the form of talent whose careers are just beginning. Australia, fittingly, will provide a fresh chapter at Rajkot which will host all the one-day matches.