3rd & 4th Test against Australia: Dravid wants Sehwag out; Gavaskar wants Dhoni to captain till 2019

India is 2-0 up; time for many exponential theories…. some wrote that it is time to groove Rahane  and Shikhar Dhawan………… in India, players immediately after their days, become commentators and sometimes perhaps express their grudge of their days !!!

This particular comment of Rahul Dravid is somehow unpalatable to me.  Cricinfo quotes Dravid as stating that ‘India's selectors and management must decide whether they want Virender Sehwag to open in Tests in South Africa at the end of the year, and if not, they must give someone else the opportunity to find his feet in familiar conditions’. The Indian selectors are due to pick the squad for the last two Tests against Australia on Thursday, but ESPNcricinfo  states that  no changes are expected. The report speaks of a  chink in India's commanding victories in the first two Tests in Chennai and Hyderabad being their opening partnership, which produced 11, 16 and 17 ~ and that is a direct hit on Nawab of Nafsargah who has  aggregated a lowly 27 in three innings.

The swashbuckler cavalier, Virender Sehwag is 34 years now.  He has played 104 tests making 8586 runs in 180 innings at an average of 49.34 and an unbelievable strike rate of 82.23 with 23 centuries under his belt, the last one coming in the first test against England, another quality knock at that.  He has made 8273 runs in 251 onedayers.  After that brilliant 117 against England at Ahmedabad which was responsible for Indian victory, as many of his earlier knocks been, Sehwag has struggled to make runs.

"I think the selectors and management need to decide whether they are going to open with Viru (Virender) in South Africa," Dravid told ESPNcricinfo. "I mean Viru playing well, Viru at his best, is a great asset to any side, but the reality is that he hasn't been performing particularly well, and he hasn't really done well on overseas trips over the last two or three years. If they feel confident about opening with Sehwag in South Africa, then I think it makes sense to continue with Sehwag and give him the opportunity to get that confidence." Dravid said there was also the option of moving Sehwag to the middle order, and if that was the case, then India should blood the replacement opener in home conditions before taking him to face the new ball in South Africa. The reserve opener in the squad for the first two Tests against Australia was Delhi batsman Shikhar Dhawan.

Dravid is quoted as stating that it makes sense to try out another youngster, or try out another opener, and give him the opportunity to play at least a couple of Test matches in more familiar conditions, before going to South Africa.  Dravid propagates that it will be unfair on any young opener to be asked to go to South Africa straightaway, and play against the likes of Steyn, Philander and Morkel.

A senior pro like Dravid knows the game too well ~ he certainly would know that even if ‘an youngster’ were to play and make runs in these 2 tests, which most likely would be on spinning tracks – would find the bouncy South Africa far too different playing Dale Steyn.  Is it that Dravid wants to see Sehwag out of the team ?  For everyone, it has been the past performance and when it comes to Sachin Tendulkar, people would speak that Sachin should be allowed to time his retirement and all that…………. here is what Sehwag statistically is….

Of the 43 occasions, when Indian batsmen have made 200+ ; Sehwag stands tall with 6 and 2 of them being 300+; the only Indian to have hit a triple century.  Of the top 10 ~ Sehwag is there 4 times. When most contemporary players dread to score runs, Sehwag has played some good 4th innings perhaps matching VVS Laxman in that aspect.

Player	Runs	Mins	Balls	Opposition	Match Date
V Sehwag	319	530	304	v South Africa	26-Mar-08
V Sehwag	309	531	375	v Pakistan	28-Mar-04
V Sehwag	293	366	254	v Sri Lanka	2-Dec-09
VVS Laxman	281	631	452	v Australia	11-Mar-01
R Dravid	270	740	495	v Pakistan	13-Apr-04
V Sehwag	254	328	247	v Pakistan	13-Jan-06
SR Tendulkar	248*	552	379	v Bangladesh	10-Dec-04
SR Tendulkar	241*	613	436	v Australia	2-Jan-04
SC Ganguly	239	518	361	v Pakistan	8-Dec-07
SM Gavaskar	236*	644	425	v West Indies	24-Dec-83

While Dravid spake thus, the other little master Sunil Gavaskar praised Dhoni for the positive change in his captaincy.  About a fortnight ago, people were braying for the blood of Dhoni, the double ton at Chepauk and the two victories have suddenly made them forget the twin disaster at England and Australia and the more recent debacle against the visiting England at home.  Now Sunny says that with his changed leadership approach, Dhoni should not be disturbed till the 2019 World Cup. These two matches have made Gavaskar spot out that Dhoni has changed positively as a captain. Gavaskar is now stating  that it would be up to Dhoni to ultimately decide, considering he would be 38 then.

Two wins, now Gavaskar sees Dhoni is not defensive and is showing displeasure to players not performing – is that Sehwag or to Gambhir who is already out !!

India is a democracy and people speak their heart out, especially when attacking others.. Sehwag at 34 is old but Dhoni is young till 38………… what a logic !!

with regards – S. Sampathkumar.

6^th March 2013