Ian Chappell in his column has asked “Where’s Viru?” and I concur with his assessment that India have made a big mistake in not short listing him for the Australia tour.
Chappell has this to say in his article –
Now was not the right time to give up on Virender Sehwag. His selection for Australia would have been a gamble worth taking. Forget about whose nose might have been put out of joint, the Australians still fear Sehwag from the last tour, and it’s rarely that you have a chance to put one over on the Baggy Green caps, so when the opportunity arises, you grab it with both hands
As soon as the shortlist was announced, I was expressing similar thoughts to a friend of mine. As a matter of fact, I do not even understand why the selectors had to announce an interim 24 member short list if they couldn’t decide on the exact players. What purpose does it serve? (Visas, maybe?) IMHO, they could have waited till one more round of Ranji games had finished to see how Sehwag goes against Maharashtra.
I also felt that India should have included Sehwag in the squad for the Pakistan series in preparation for the Australian tour. He has a Bradmanque average against them and it would have been ideal preparation for him – it would have helped him regain both his confidence and form.
Australia has this ability to choke the opposition of runs and the wickets automatically fall due to the pressure. This is where someone like Sehwag would be have been invaluable as he scores both against fast bowlers and spinners at an excellent strike rate. This not only helps in putting the pressure back on the bowlers, it helps the other batsmen playing around him to take their own sweet time to settle down and then start scoring.
The selectors have not recognised this and the selection this year has been a bit short sighted by relying on a makeshift opener (even though Karthik did a terrific job in that role in both South Africa and England) to fill an important role in the team.
From their point of view, Sehwag’s run in the domestic competition has not been that great. Both his Delhi team mates Aakash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir have done better than him and someone like Parthiv Patel or Dinesh Karthik fill in the role of reserve ‘Keeper, while also filling the opener’s slot for India.
With Yuvraj’s success against Pakistan with the bat, I have a feeling that Dravid will be asked to open with Jaffar for the Australian tour so that they can somehow fit Yuvraj into the playing XI. Although, Dravid is more than capable of opening the batting for India, it is a role he has had reservations with in the past. Being a team man, I am sure he will oblige.
Although I am not sure whether this move will work out, I have a feeling that is where we are heading towards…
-Mahesh-
5 responses so far ↓
What’s the team for Australia going to be? « i3j3Cricket :: A blog for fans of Indian cricket… // 9 December 2007 at 10:10 pm |
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theblackirishman // 10 December 2007 at 8:44 am |
Viru is a sentimental / gambler’s choice. For a team with a professional approach, I cant see how including a player woefully out of form could be justified, specially when so many others are putting in very strong performances.
However, Akash Chopra would be a good foil for Jaffer. He has aussie exposure and is in good nick.
I still cannot see this team picking 20 aussie wickets in 5 days. The saving grace could be (as in Adelaide 2004) that Oz will come after them and therefore a good batting performance might be enough to get over the line.
blogesh // 10 December 2007 at 7:34 pm |
I agree that Sehwag isn’t doing himself any favours by his non-performance in the Ranji tournament – he has even muffed his performance against Maharashtra today
India Vs RSA :: 1st Test :: 3rd Day « i3j3Cricket :: A blog for fans of Indian cricket… // 28 March 2008 at 11:33 pm |
[...] bad series in South Africa. He was kept away from the team that toured Bangladesh and England and when he was not even short listed for the Australian tour, his test career seemed completely stalled. As luck would have it, Gambhir was injured and Sehwag [...]