The news was on the expected grounds. An out of form Virender Sehwag has been dropped for the last two test matches in the ongoing test series. This brings down the effective strength of the squad to 14 players as the selectors have decided against choosing a replacement for Virender Sehwag. The dashing Delhi opener has been facing difficulties in maintaining his form since past few months. This was much evident from his dismal 27 that he managed to score in the last three innings.
BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale announced the decision of axing Virender Sehwag from the last two tests. However, Harbajhan Singh who too has not been able to weave any magic from his off spinners has been retained for the upcoming two test matches. The team for the Airtel test series was announced by All India Senior Selection Committee which maintained the same squad apart from one change for the remaining two tests of the series.
The third test match of the ongoing series is set be played in Mohali from March 14th with the fourth and the final to be played in Delhi from 22nd March onwards. India has meanwhile taken a lead of 2-0 in the series winning the Chennai and Hyderabad test matches with a comfortable lead.
Sehwag’s absence could come as a boon for Shikhar Dhawan who could get a chance to open along with Murali Vijay. Murali has already been riding high with a comfortable hundred that he managed to hit in the second test at Hyderabad.
Tough times lie ahead for Virender Sehwag as the Delhi opener has failed to click during the last five innings he played. He hit the last century against England in Ahmedabad during November last year. Meanwhile Virender Sehwag has taken the decision to drop him from the two tests in its stride. In an interview aired on NDTV, the Delhi batsman pointed out that he did not have any plans of retiring from international cricket soon and will be working hard to retain his position.
Things have got tough for Virender Sehwag in the last two years. He scored 173 against New Zealand in November 2010 in Ahmedabad. The next test century came after a gap of two years with his century against England in Ahmedabad. This makes the days ahead extremely tough for the Delhi opener and he will have to prove his worth against highly talented and worthy new comers. Though Sikhar Dhawan’s name has been cropping up for the opener’s slot however, Sikhar could find tough competition from Ajinkya Rahane whose name was also making the rounds.
Indian squad meanwhile has been finalized for the upcoming test at Mohali and Delhi and the team composition is as:
MS Dhoni( Captain and Wicketkeeper), Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Dinda and Cheteswar Pujara.
All eyes will now be on if the Indian team for if it can make a clean sweep in the series, history will perhaps be redefined when one talks about India Australia series.