Out-of-favour with national selectors, swashbuckling Sehwag still hopes to play next year's World Cup
Circa February 19, 2011. India are up against Bangladesh in the opening match of the ICC World Cup in Dhaka. The hosts were, perhaps, prepared for the worst. But they sure didn't expect Virender Sehwag to come up with a murderous knock. Sehwag made a mockery of the Bangladesh attack, scoring a mammoth 175 from 145 balls at a strike rate of 125. India went on to win the game by 87 runs.
Throughout the World Cup, his was one of the most sought-after wickets. He played with the same carefree attitude, but managed to give India the start they needed in every game apart from the final against Sri Lanka.
A lot has changed for Sehwag since India won the World Cup almost four years ago. He hasn't been in the thick of things of late. Later this week, the selectors will sit down to pick the 30 probables for the 2015 World Cup. And Sehwag knows it will be tough to make the cut. He isn't ruling out a miracle, though.
"I hope that my name appears in the probables list. Every cricketer wants to play in the World Cup. I still dream and hope to play in this World Cup," Sehwag said at an ICC event in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The Delhi batsman's recent failures on the domestic circuit and his refusal to play in the Deodhar Trophy will not help his case. The fact that he wasn't picked for India's tour of Australia, which starts on December 9, only shows that the selectors have moved on.
Yet, a lot could depend on how the team fares Down Under in the tri-series (involving Australia and England) preceding the World Cup. What if the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma fail to perform? Or what if someone — God forbid — gets injured? "You never know. Good things can happen," Sehwag said.
Sehwag doesn't mind batting at one-down or No. 4 for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy. "I have opened the batting, batted at one-down, two-down, three-down and even four-down. I am hoping I can score runs. It doesn't matter where I bat. It is important for me to score runs. I want to watch the ball till the end. And if it is in my zone, then (I will) try to hit it rather than play cautiously. This year, I am hoping to bat at No. 3 and No. 4 for Delhi," he said.
Sehwag said it's "great" to have the World Cup Down Under because "Australia is the best place to play cricket. You get good fast pitches with bounce, and the ball comes nicely on to the bat. You will enjoy batting as well as bowling in these conditions".
He said India will have an advantage as the team will be there for the Tests and tri-series. "I think all the players would have already played Tests and triangular series before the start of the World Cup. So they will get used to the conditions."
Apart from India, Sehwag predicted that co-hosts Australia and New Zealand, and South Africa will make it to the semifinal.
"Recently, New Zealand played well against Pakistan in Tests and they will be playing in home conditions. South Africa, too, played well in Australia. In every match, the score was around the 300-run mark and they were close games. So it is difficult to say which teams would make the last four, but I would still say that it would be Australia, South Africa, India and New Zealand," he said.
Sehwag in Vijay Hazare Trophy (for Delhi)
vs Mumbai, Nov 19: 9
vs Services, Nov 14: 20
vs Haryana, Nov 12: 80
v Himachal Pradesh, Nov 10: 11
vs Punjab, Nov 8: 0
vs J&K, Nov 6: 11
SEHWAG IN ODIS
Matches: 251
Runs: 8,273
HS: 219
Avg: 35.05
SR: 104.33
100/50: 15/38
DID YOU KNOW?
Sehwag last wore the blue jersey in January 2013 against Pakistan in Kolkata, scoring a 43-ball 31
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