Sehwag could be somewhat relieved but also somewhat concerned at how the selectors have worked out his future says Ayaz Memon.
MUMBAI: Virender Sehwag could be somewhat relieved but also somewhat concerned at how the selectors have worked out his future.
Despite his recent poor form, he is in the list of probables from which the team for the World Cup will be chosen, which gives him a lifeline. But his omission indicates that the mercurial opener now has to join the queue of hopefuls from the rear.
It is unlikely that the selectors will want more than four openers for the World Cup, and the probables list already has this number — Tendulkar, Ganguly, Gambhir, and Uthappa. Of these, the first two must be considered certainties for the World Cup.
Gambhir adds a left-handed dimension to the batting, which could be considered crucial, and if Uthappa gets runs in the matches against the West Indies or Sri Lanka, Sehwag could be in starting trouble, as it were.
Both Tendulkar and Ganguly can also bat in the middle order, but given India’s poor batting show in recent months, the arguments in favour of their reuniting at the top are becoming increasingly vociferous. Sehwag too can bat lower down, but the middle order is already looking packed, unless Tendulkar and Ganguly are confirmed as openers.
A lot will depend, one suspects, on how Tendulkar, who is now also vice-captain -- by default or design -- plays this dilemma out in his own head, and on the drawing board with Dravid and Chappell.
Sehwag’s future depends on how this muddle is resolved. Losing the vice-captaincy midway through the South Africa tour was a clear signal that he was running out of favour rapidly.
The fact that he has not been dumped completely is because some influential people — within and outside the dressing room - still consider him a match-winner. But the support for him now cannot come through normal discourse. It’s time Sehwag’s bat did the talking.
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