Already missing a few key players due to injuries, Delhi Daredevils may suffer another setback as explosive batsman Virender Sehwag is a doubtful starter for Wednesday's IPL opener against Kolkata Knight Riders due to a back problem.
He was regarded as the world's most destructive batsman in his heydays but legendary West Indian Sir Vivian Richards feels Virender Sehwag holds that reputation in modern cricket and India's chances in the 2011 World Cup will largely depend on the right-hander's form.
India, down 0-2 in the series, made two changes to the squad, dropping out-of-form opener Virender Sehwag and pacer Ashok Dinda for Ajinkya Rahane and Shami Ahmed respectively.
India's selectors went on expected lines, leaving out former champions while giving the nod to top performers in domestic circuit in the 30-man probables' list for the 2015 World Cup.
Out-of-favour batsmen Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir will be looking to come good and regain lost pride when India 'A' takes on West Indies 'A' in the third and final unofficial Test, in Hubli on Wednesday, needing nothing less than a victory to level the three-match series.
On a serious note, the Cricket Advisory Committee is expected to shortlist 10 names for the high-profile positions.
1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev was also named in the team as the lone all-rounder, but the retired Sourav Ganguly failed to make the grade.
A major concern for the Indian team was averted when Virender Sehwag was declared fit to play in the final Group B game against West Indies in Chennai on Sunday.
India may not be contemplating life after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli just yet but the robust display of their fringe players against England will have eased any fears about how they will cope when the old guard steps aside.
Glenn Maxwell's blitzkrieg 38-ball 90 in Kings XI Punjab's win over Chennai Super Kings in an IPL match in Cuttack on Wednesday night prompted the losing captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to compare the Australian with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in talent.
The once dynamic batsman, playing for India Blue against India Red, fell for 9 after struggling to survive at the crease for 31 minutes.
Virender Sehwag scored 175 and Virat Kohli 100 as India beat Bangladesh by 87 runs in the opening match of the ICC World Cup.
Reader Abhilash Nair sent us this picture from South Africa.
22-year-old Rajasthan pacer Pankaj Singh was also named in the 16-man team for the upcoming series Down Under.
Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag of India, Hashim Amla of South Africa and England's Graeme Swann have all been short-listed for the top honour at the LG ICC Awards 2010, it was announced on Monday.
Virender Sehwag closed in on his second successive century as India ended Day 2 in the third and final Test on 180 for two, in 35 overs in their first innings, in reply to Sri Lanka's 425.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh were on Saturday promoted to grade 'A'.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag scored a scintillating 88-ball hundred to steer MCC past Durham in the English county season curtain raiser in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
As New Zealand found India in the driver's seat in the first cricket Test early on, Kiwi batsman Jesse Ryder said things may have been different had they not dropped Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid.
Virender Sehwag's experiment to bat in the middle-order failed, and Gautam Gambhir's woeful run of form continued, as India 'A' were restricted to 191 for 3 at stumps on the second day of the second unofficial 'Test' against West Indies 'A', at the Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering cricket ground, in Shimoga, on Thursday.
Sehwag, whose very selection for the tour raised eyebrows as he was not even in the list of probables for the series, has probably been left out to accommodate an in-form Yuvraj Singh.
A formidable Delhi outfit boasting of some big names will try to avert an outright defeat against a spirited Uttar Pradesh side as an injured Virender Sehwag led the visitors' fight to keep themselves in contention in their opening Ranji Trophy group league game in Ghaziabad on Sunday.
Sachin Tendulkar's historic ODI double hundred is a feat that only Virender Sehwag can match or surpass among the current crop of batsmen, feels England's Ravi Bopara, who doesn't foresee it happening anywhere outside India.
Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and Ramesh Powar were dropped for the first two Sri Lanka ODIs.
Paceman Munaf Patel could also make a comeback in Team India if declared fit by the Board.
The intense exchange between Kohli and Gambhir caused a stir on national television.
Manoj Tiwary and Ajinkya Rahane, who impressed during the last edition of the Indian Premier League, also made it to the 15-member squad, as did pacer Ashok Dinda and leg-spinner Rahul Sharma.
Virender Sehwag pointed out that IPL is a good platform for young players to prove themselves and bring themselves in contention for a spot in the national team.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag offers a straight bat on the best batsmen in contemporary cricket, IPL team Kings XI Punjab, of which he is mentor, and why he is comfortable doing cricket commentary. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com listens in.
A day after meeting DDCA president Arun Jaitley, Indian opener Virender Sehwag said that there are discrepencies in the selection process at the lower level and hoped that his suggestions to the Delhi administrators would be implemented soon.
Pakistan's captain challenged the dashing Indian opener to unleash his fusillade on bouncy wickets.
'I have trained Ravish Kumar, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan...' 'But if I approach somebody for work, I never get it.'
Ben Stokes and his team-mates have their task cut out as they look to emulate Alastair Cook-led England's historic India series win in 2012.
Sidelined from the Indian team for nearly four months due to an injury, flamboyant opener Virender Sehwag on Sunday said he is satisfied with the recovery of his shoulder problem and is now desperate to return to the ground. Playing for Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance 1 team, Sehwag made his comeback to the cricket field against BPCL, but failed to open his account.
The former opening batsman picked India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand as the four semi-finalists in the upcoming tournament Down Under.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India stepped in to bring about harmony in the Indian cricket team in Australia, telling skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and vice-captain Virender Sehwag to ensure cordiality prevails.
The out-of-favour opening pair of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were handed a lifeline by the national selectors on Tuesday when they were included in the India 'A' squad for the second and third four-day matches against the touring West Indies 'A' later this month.
Harbhajan Singh, who was dropped for the ODI series against England, has been ignored for the first Test against the West Indies, beginning November 8 at the Ferozeshah Kotla, in Delhi.
India's comprehensive 2-0 victory in the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which concluded in Mumbai on Sunday, was reflected in the home side players topping the charts in both batting and bowling.
