Showing posts with label Virender Sehwag. Show all posts
ICC World Twenty20 2009 - Shoulder injury rules Sehwag out of World Twenty20
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
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| Related Links Player/Officials: Dinesh Karthik | Virender Sehwag Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20 Teams: India | ||
Virender Sehwag has been ruled out of the ICC World Twenty20 in England after failing to recover from a shoulder injury he sustained during the IPL in South Africa.
He will return to India after consulting specialists in England and will be replaced by Dinesh Karthik, who was in good touch during the IPL. Karthik, who last played a Twenty20 for India in January 2008, also doubles up as a reserve wicketkeeper, something the squad was lacking.
A BCCI media release ended days of speculation over Sehwag's fitness - the opener has been a peripheral figure during Indian practice sessions. He wasn't present for India's optional training session on Monday at Lady Bay and didn't bat on the tour until Tuesday morning, often watching his team-mates go about their routines from the sidelines. The uncertainty over his injury led to reports of a rift between him and the captain MS Dhoni, which prompted the team to make a dramatic public show of unity and emphasise their team spirit through a statement read out by Dhoni.
Things weren't much clearer today, either, at the pre-match press conference - in fact the drama descended into farce. Dhoni refused to clarify the ambiguous situation, saying "anything related to fitness there will be a press release from the BCCI". Following repeated inquiries and flared tempers among the media, team manager Chamundeshwar Nath intervened to try and defuse the situation. However, he too stopped short of saying that Sehwag would indeed be returning home.
"If Sehwag has got pain in the hand, he might not bat," Nath said. "Today he tried and he was in some discomfort. Tomorrow, we will take a final decision on him. If he is not fit enough we will inform BCCI and they will issue a press release. How much pain Sehwag is having, Dhoni cannot answer when he is batting in the nets."
Minutes after that, the BCCI had issued a release ruling out Sehwag.
Under normal circumstances, the loss of Sehwag, a proven match-winner in any form of the game, would be a massive blow to India's strategy. While India's campaign will be weaker, they will benefit from Rohit Sharma, who has made the transition from middle-order batsmen to opener successfully in the three games in England so far. Rohit scored 31 and 80 in the warm-ups against New Zealand and Pakistan, and made 36 in India's first group match against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge.
Not having the bowler-destroying skills of Sehwag to call upon if needed, however, is a blow, as is the loss of his part-time offspin in a tournament that has seen the slower bowlers play a significant role. Sehwag sustained the grade one tear to his shoulder during the IPL and the coach Gary Kirsten said that he had been kept in the squad in the hope that he would not miss the entire tournament. "If a player of the caliber of Sehwag can be available for any part of the tournament, we want to keep him there." That however hasn't come to pass and India will have to hope that Rohit's good form at the top continues even against tougher opposition and more potent new-ball attacks.
That the injury to Sehwag was such a closely-guarded secret was perplexing. An injury is after all merely an injury and a more transparent dissemination of information from the team management would go a long way in diffusing the ambiguity and speculation that often surrounds the Indian team. Perhaps they could follow Ireland's example - moments before Dhoni addressed the media, William Porterfield had spoken at length about the injury to Niall O'Brien.
ICC World Twenty20 - India's fingers crossed over Sehwag and Zaheer
Thursday, June 4, 2009
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| Related Links Player/Officials: MS Dhoni | Zaheer Khan | Virender Sehwag Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20 Teams: India | ||
Despite their handsome victory against Pakistan on Wednesday evening, India are still sweating on the fitness of their two key players Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan. Sehwag, who is yet to bat on the tour, is suffering from a niggle to his right shoulder while Zaheer is on the recovery path from the shoulder injury to his bowling arm, picked up in the IPL.
Captain MS Dhoni sounded ambiguous last evening when asked about Sehwag's fitness. "To be honest I don't know. He could be [fit] for the second game, but we will see."
The Indians, having landed last Friday, had a couple of optional practice sessions before playing two warm-up games against New Zealand and Pakistan. Sehwag was present at the first nets session but did not bat and missed out on the practice matches. "The physio is still working on Viru [Sehwag]," a team source said.
Dhoni was more straightforward in his assessment of Zaheer's injury and was optimistic the strike bowler would be back in action soon. "We have seen improvement," Dhoni said. "He has started bowling but I don't know at what intensity. Hopefully he will be fit for the game on June 10 [against Ireland]. Even if he is fit for the June 6 game against Bangladesh, we don't want to risk him for the first game."
Based on their mixed results in the two warm-up games, where the victory against Pakistan offset the initial defeat against New Zealand, Dhoni would look forward to the return of both key men eagerly.
Talking about the grey areas, Dhoni pointed out the weak bowling in the death overs. Against New Zealand the pair of RP Singh and Irfan Pathan leaked 31 in the final two overs. Matters didn't improve much in the Pakistan game too, when the two final overs from RP and Praveen Kumar went for 29.
"We did not bowl in the last two overs once again very well (against Pakistan)," Dhoni said. "We are trying to bowl yorkers and it didn't work out."
Captains and coaches have insisted the initial six overs (the Powerplay) and the final few overs are the two critical points where teams have won or lost matches. In such a scenario, Zaheer's presence becomes crucial with his proven ability to swing the momentum in India's favour at any point in the innings. Ishant Sharma has shown similar potency to strike at all times, but he needs support if India have to stop the opposition from building large totals. Dhoni mentioned he would like to play two specialist spinners but not at the expense of a batsman as the slow bowlers were key on the flat pitches in England.
Even if Rohit Sharma has slipped easily into the opening slot, Dhoni knows Sehwag remains the key with his ability to provide blazing starts, a big plus in Twenty20 cricket. Even if he is reluctant to concede, Dhoni knows only too well the consequences of pushing Sehwag into the middle-order. But he is too smart to reveal his cards and would be happy for the opponents to play the guessing game.
"Frankly speaking, I don't know. It's better to have a problem of plenty than nothing. As of now, I dont know the batting order," was his roundabout reply.
