If Sehwag is indeed injured, then it is a pointer to the fact that IPL has started taking its toll on the players. Opinions would start floating in the market that the players are giving commercial considerations priority than dawning the national flags and do the duty for the country.

The moot point is when did Sehwag get himself injured? He was playing at the top of his form throughout the tournament. Is it more the fatigue that has been the catalytic factor for opting to sit out from the tournament, as Sehwag decided?

Whatever is the case, now that Sehwag has decided to drop out, and Murali Vijay has been roped in as the replacement, for him it would be a blessing in disguise. It could also provide an impetus to him to come up with another scintillating performance in the semi-final match against the Deccan Chargers and celebrate his inclusion into the national squad by letting his bat do the talking.

While critics may carp at Sehwag’s exclusion and blame the IPL for his exclusion from the Twenty-Twenty World Cup, the beneficial part of the 20-20 World Cup is that for every place there is a second line of command that is available to the selectors. They do not have to look deep to find the replacements.

Another point that needs to be considered is that a fresh blood plays without inhibition and is able to carve a niche for him.  Shaun Marsh is a prime example that could otherwise never have got the chance to be included in the Australian squad but owing to the batting prowess that he displayed in the second version of the IPL he is a pivot of the Australian team.

IPL has widened the competition and expanded the horizon of talent that is now available to the country. It needs to be appreciated for this initiative.

By: Suman Rai

The selectors named in-form Tamil Nadu batsman Murali Vijay as his replacement, while naming Gautam Gambhir the new vice captain.

“Virender Sehwag has sustained a shoulder injury and has been advised rest for three-four weeks. He has therefore been ruled out of the ICC World T20,” BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement.

“The ICC’s Technical Committee has permitted a replacement for him. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has accordingly picked Murali Vijay,” he added.

Incidentally, Sehwag had been injured in the 2009 edition of the World T20 as well when he travelled to England with the squad but did not play a game. The swashbuckling opener has been rather subdued in the ongoing Indian Premier League where his team Delhi Daredevils could not reach the semifinals.

Sehwag did play the Daredevils’ last IPL match against Deccan Chargers on Sunday but his contribution with the bat was a mere eight before Chaminda Vaas removed him.

In contrast, Chennai Super Kings batsman Vijay has been in tremendous form in the IPL and the highlight was his breathtaking 56-ball 127 against Rajasthan Royals.

The award, which was instituted in 2004, has Australian captain Ricky Ponting, spin wizard Shane Warne and talismanic English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff among its past winners.

The 31-year-old Indian was picked for the honour for a second successive year after scoring “more quickly than any specialist batsman in Tests or one-day internationals”, a website reported.

Sehwag apart, English wicketkeeper Matt Prior, spinner Graeme Swann, batsman Graham Onions, pacer Stuart Broad and Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke were the ‘Five Cricketers of the Year’ chosen by the magazine.

Sehwag averaged 70, with a strike-rate of 108.9, in the Tests he played last year. In one-day internationals, Sehwag had a strike-rate of 136.5 while averaging 45.

Strauss and Dilshan were also nominated by several correspondents who were consulted about this award but fell short of Sehwag.

Clarke, who had number-one ranked Sehwag firmly within his sights before the start of the Test with just 16 ratings points separating the two, has dropped to fifth position after his contributions of 28 and 63 in the team’s second and last Test against New Zealand in Hamilton.

Clarke’s gap with Sehwag has also opened to 29 ratings points which reflects the close fight at the top as the Australia vice-captain has slipped three places after conceding only 13 ratings points.

Clarke’s fall has moved South African Hashim Amla back to second place with an opportunity to snatch the number-one position from Sehwag when he faces the West Indies in the three-Test series starting in Kingston on June 10.

Like Clarke, Australia captain Ricky Ponting too suffered a free-fall, dropping out of top 15.

Ponting, who scored 22 and six in Hamilton, has dropped out of the top 15 after slipping six places to 16th position.

When the Tasmanian takes the field against Pakistan at Lord’s on 13 July, he’ll be trying to avoid to drop to 20th position, his lowest-ranking in eight years which he had achieved against the same opposition after the Sydney Test in January.

India remains the number one Test team with three players — Sehwag (1st), Gautam Gambhir (6th) and Sachin Tendulkar (7th) — in the top 10 batsmen’s list.

In the bowlers’ chart led by South African Dale Steyn, Indian has two representatives in Zaheer Khan (6th) and Harbhajan Singh (7th).

After staging a ‘unity parade and leading a team walkout at a press conference following TOIs June 5 report of a rift between him and the injured Virender Sehwag, M S Dhoni had another run-in with the media on Tuesday.

Sparks flew between him and journalists as Dhoni refused to confirm or deny Sehwags injury status, even as rumours were doing the rounds that the opener had been asked to return. This led to an altercations between the captain and scribes, with Dhoni, at one point, even furiously asking if the media was accusing him of selectively leaking stories.

Even as the drama was unfolding, a BCCI press release confirmed that a grade-I tear in the shoulder had ruled Sehwag out of the tournament. Dinesh Karthik will be his replacement. Sehwag will return after consulting medical experts in London, added the release.

After TOI carried a report on talk of tension between the captain and his deputy, Dhoni had paraded the team before the media in a show of unity.

On Tuesday, Sehwag batted for just an over-and-a-half at the nets before leaving — a sure pointer that he hadn’t recovered from injury. So when Dhoni arrived at the pre-match media briefing, alone this time, the first question he faced was on Sehwag’s fitness.

His response was a cold, “I don’t want to say anything on fitness issues. BCCI will be issuing a release.”

June 3: Captain Dhoni is ambiguous about Sehwag’s shoulder injury, says, “To be honest I don’t know (when he’ll be fit.” He is more optimistic about Zaheer’s recovery
June 5: Reports stand-off between Dhoni and Sehwag over the latter hiding his injury
June 5: Later that day, entire Indian team is paraded in ’show of unity’ at routine pre-match media meet
June 5: Coach Gary Kirsten confirms Sehwag has grade-I tear in his shoulder which occurred during IPL
June 8: Sehwag skips nets again. Team India continues to cold shoulder media after rift reports
June 9: Team announces Sehwag will fly back. Dhoni refuses to comment on Viru’s injury

The 19-year-old was included in the Pakistan squad and has been backed by skipper Younis Khan to do well in the tournament.

Shahzaib has a tally of 80 fours and 13 sixes in 10 first-class matches. The youngster says he loves watching Sehwag in action.

“He is someone I would like to emulate and bat like. He dictates the pace of the game and I want to do that,” Hasan said.

Hailing from Karachi, the youngster has already made an impact in the national Twenty20 Championship that concluded last night.

Shahzaib might find it difficult to get a spot in the playing XI because the Pakistani think-tank is contemplating using wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal as a makeshift opener in the tournament.

“I will wait for my chance when it comes I will try to take it with both hands. For me just to get into the Pakistan team is a dream come true,” Hasan said.