Sehwag’s experience will be hard to look past, but his form remains contentious. (Source: File photo)

By Sriram Veera

Who can really crib if the selectors don’t pick Virender Sehwag on Monday for the upcoming Test series in Australia?

It’s easy to list out reasons not to pick him — from his age to that of his young contenders and of the need to look ahead at future and all that jazz — though it must be already obvious that this piece is going to try listing out some reasons in favour of the erstwhile swashbuckling hero, now almost reduced to being a disembodied voice in Indian cricket.

India lost their last few overseas Test series pretty badly, raising questions about their morale, skill-sets, their captain and their future. It’s clear that they could do with few wins outside India.

It’s also clear that their interests would be best served if that win is powered by the youngsters. But considering what has happened in the last year, the chances of them succumbing meekly in Australia are not remote.

And if they can manage couple of wins against Australia, it can trigger some confidence in the young team and offer some breathing space to the likes of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, who couldn’t quite handle the pressure of being leading batsmen last time around.

The case for Sehwag depends on the assumed benefits it can pass down to the middle order. If he clicks, and in the way only he can, it can fire up the confidence levels of the young middle order. And he finally came to form in the IPL. Without the pressure of carrying on the team all on their own, Kohli and Pujara’s success rate can escalate.

Top order aggression

There is no guarantee that Sehwag can be the man who can lead that turnaround. After all, he was part of a few disastrous trips overseas before he was, rightly, dumped. But in the current set-up, there is a need for an aggressive batsman at the top.

Murali Vijay prefers caution, KL Rahul, a name doing the rounds, is even more cautious and Shikhar Dhawan couldn’t quite click with his game. In this case, will it really hurt if India give Sehwag one final chance? If Rahul is made to wait out for a series, will it be really unfair on him?

For the past one year, starting from the South Africa tour, Indian cricket has tried to bet on the youth and has come with mixed results.

And it’s of course to be expected. When you go with the youth, you have to give them some time to fumble and stumble before they learn to walk. India found some hope in Vijay and seen some doubts in Dhawan and speculation is now on about giving Rahul — a very compact young batsman who is definitely going to play for India in the near future — a chance in Australia. It seems safe to assume that Vijay and Dhawan would fill two opening slots and the contest will be for that third spot between Rahul or Sehwag (Gautam Gambhir could perhaps be ruled out, given he looked out of sorts in his last Test in England.)

A tour to forget

Last time Sehwag played, in Australia in 2012, he was pitted with Gambhir in the opposite camp to Dhoni.

Rumours swirled through that tour about the contentious relationship between Dhoni and him but it will be safe to say that Sehwag won’t entertain any such grand ambitions if he was given a go this time.

However, trying to string together a case for Sehwag makes one thing clear: It’s easier for the selectors to stick with youth than taking a punt on him.

The modern-day fan too doesn’t like all the romantic tosh of looking at a figure from the past and so the selectors will face a lot of pressure if they opt for Sehwag. The selectors will obviously need a great deal of support from the captain, a support that’s preferably also made public to ease the pressure on them. Let’s see what they come up with today.