Virendra Sehwag dropped from last two test matches
New Delhi: Virender Sehwag has been dropped for the remaining two Test matches against Australia in Mohali and New Delhi. The squad was trimmed to 14 with the selectors deciding against picking a replacement for Sehwag, who has scored just 27 runs in his three innings during the ongoing series.
Sehwag’s axing comes after his long-time opening partner Gautam Gambhir was shown the door, also due to poor form. In the absence of Sehwag, Shikhar Dhawan could get a chance to open the innings with Murali Vijay, who cemented his place with a gritty hundred in the second Test in Hyderabad, which India won by an innings and 135 runs.
He was unable to score even a half-century in two home Tests against New Zealand. During India’s last overseas tour, in Australia, Sehwag scored just 198 runs in eight innings. The rest of the line-up was expectedly retained on the basis of impressive performances.
Save for Sehwag, no other batsman looked like facing the selectors’ axe as they came up with solid performances in the first two Tests. Cheteshwar Pujara, with a double hundred in Hyderabad, was never in doubt, neither was Virat Kohli, who announced his return to form with a hundred in the Chennai Test.
Among the bowlers, spin spearhead R Ashwin has been the most impressive with 18 wickets so far. Harbhajan, on the other hand, is trying to rediscover the vintage form that got him over 400 Test wickets. In the ongoing series, the bowler so far has five wickets in his kitty. Young pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has managed to impress with his conviction in the debut Test series but Ishant Sharma will have to do more after a rather ordinary effort.
