Virender Sehwag, once more

To drop Virender Sehwag is to be a stubborn non-believer and naming his replacement requires a very long leap of faith. Trying out an untested opener, and leaving out someone who happens to be the only player in the country to hit a Test triple hundred (he has two) and has to his name India's top three individual scores, will always be a gamble.

Sehwag will not be in the dressing room for the final two Tests of the Australia series, and padding up with the in-form Murali Vijay will be either Shikhar Dhawan or Ajinkya Rahane, neither of whom has played a Test before. So does this mean the end of the road for Sehwag? It shouldn't. With India expected to visit South Africa towards the end of the year, Sehwag should remain in the scheme of things. With scores of 25, 30, 9, 23, 49, 0, 2, 19 and 6 in the last five Tests, the snub to Sehwag doesn't come as a surprise, but not considering him for South Africa, the No 1 Test side, with the fiercest fast bowlers in the world, will be shocking.

Ever since his debut Test in Bloemfontein, where he scored a hundred, Sehwag has never had his class questioned, home or away. In these transitional times, selectors need to guard against two things: being carried away by the form of young players and being unfairly impatient with the seniors. A longstanding formula for success in team sports rests on a balanced mix of youth and experience. Sehwag isn't just another Test opener. When he gets going, he doesn't just give his team a good start, he effectively ends the contest.

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