Trust Virender Sehwag to surprise you. Be it with a bat on the cricket field or in a formal suit off it, the swashbuckling batsman has always been fearless, says a report in The DNA, adding that on Thursday, he got yet another opportunity to convey his dislike for his former colleague and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. And he did so in his own 'brutal' style.

“Sehwag, who announced his retirement recently, did not mention Dhoni's name while thanking former captains during his felicitation ceremony at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground here. The event was organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) before the start of the first day's play of the fourth Test between India and South Africa,” says the report.

"I want to thank my first captain Ajay Sharma (Delhi Ranji team) and Ajay Jadeja (Indian team). Then Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble. I want to thank Sachin Tendulkar. Thank you all for helping me shape my career," said Sehwag. The list includes all captains he played under since the nascent stage of his career, but there was no word on Dhoni, under whose leadership he played for almost six years before being dropped from both the ODI and Test teams in 2013.

According to a report in The Indian Express, only a handful of fans had taken their seats on this chilly, smoggy Thursday morning when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) conducted a felicitation function for the recently retired Virender Sehwag, who would fill up stadiums around the world when he batted in his pomp.

“During this shabbily organized event half-an-hour before the start of the fourth Test match at Feroz Shah Kotla, a stadium Sehwag called home for an overwhelming majority of his career, you could count more people on the ground – players and support staff from India and South Africa, BCCI and DDCA officials, photojournalist and broadcasting crew, Sehwag’s family and the man himself — than in the stands. On the big screen, a video montage of his best innings entertained vacant spaces as Sehwag collected his memento from Anurag Thakur and made a brief speech before shaking hands with members of both teams,” says the report.

Meanwhile, a report in The Times of India says that it was an emotional swirl for him as he did a lap of honour with his sons, wife and mother. He thanked his friends and influences, coaches and colleagues. "I want to thank my father for allowing me to play the game and give me freedom to do whatever I wanted to. I thank all my coaches, especially AN Sharma for making me the cricketer I am," the 37-year old said.

“But the storied swashbuckler caused a few more ripples when acknowledging his captains, he thanked his first skippers, the Ajays - Sharma and Jadeja - but his last one, MS Dhoni didn't find a mention. "I would like to thank all my captains. My first captains and then Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and also Sachin Tendulkar. I also thank the players who played with and against me," he said, says the report, adding that the Delhi and District Cricket Association could have ensured that Delhi's brightest-ever star could have done with a livelier atmosphere for his final adieu.