|
|
| CricketZone.Com | IndiaExpress.Com ApunKaChoice.Com |
 |
|
NEWS India-Sri Lanka ODI Series 2007>'Success against Lanka would clinch Cup berth for Sehwag' 01st Feb 2007 22.36 IST By Agencies Virender Shewag is almost certain to be included in the Indian team for the first two matches of the one-day series against Sri Lanka with the national selectors keen to assess his form before the World Cup squad is announced. The swashbuckling opener was dropped from the squad for the series against the West Indies after a prolonged form slump but the selectors want to give him one more opportunity to regain his batting touch.
"Sehwag is almost certain to be in the team for the series against Sri Lanka. If he performs well he will be a certainty in the World Cup squad," one of the selectors said on condition of anonymity. "Everybody knows that Sehwag is a match winner. It is his form, which has been a worrying factor. If that is sorted out, there should be no problem," he said. The selectors are willing to try out all the options possible before finalising the composition for the March-April mega event. The team for the series against Sri Lanka will be announced on Saturday. "We are also looking at the option of making Sehwag play in the middle order. If he is selected it would be upto the team management to decide his batting order," the selector added. The 28-year-old Sehwag, regarded as one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket, was asked by Chief Selector Dilip Vengsarkar to "sort out his batting problems" in the nets while being rested for the West Indies series. The decision to include Sehwag in the team would mean that one of the middle order batsmen -- Sachin Tendulkar , Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Kaarthick -- would have to be rested. The series against Sri Lanka would begin at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on February 8 while Rajkot (February 11), Goa (February 14) and Visakhapatnam (February 17) will stage the three other matches. While most of the berths in the World Cup squad have been more or less decided, there are still a couple of slots which need to be finalised. He also said that Irfan Pathan would be given more opportunities to regain his form as the selectors feel that he would be a "key member" of the team. The selector also said that spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh were certainties, considering the slow tracks in the Caribbean. V B Chandrasekhar, a member of the previous selection committee, said to pick Sehwag for the World Cup would "require a lot of guts". Asked if Sehwag should be in the team for the World Cup, Chandrasekhar said: "If there is a spot open for him, then yes." "He carries a lot of experience but on current form I don't know if he commands a place in the team," he said. "It will require a lot of guts from the selectors to pick him for the World Cup." He said it was "not fair" to ask Sehwag to sort out his problems so close to the showpiece event. "They have not managed him properly. When I say 'they', it is all round - the selectors, the team management. I wouldn't exclude myself. "To give him a break so near the World Cup is not fair. If you want him (for the World Cup), then he should have played in the series against the West Indies." "He should have been dropped may be for the Malaysia series (in September). He should have been given a break when there was some domestic cricket." Chandrasekhar felt Robin Uthappa had not done badly in the series against the West Indies. "Uthappa is too young to be compared to Sehwag. If he (Uthappa) had scored a 100, he would have been an automatic choice. But even with the performances he has come up with, he should be there." Also View In-Depth Coverage: India-Sri Lanka ODI Series 2007 Team Page: India Team Page: Sri Lanka | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
|
|
|