Selectors still waiting for Sehwag’s thumbs up

The Indian opener went under the surgeon’s knife to fix his injured shoulder midway through the IPL,as he wanted to be fit in time for the England series. Sehwag is currently working hard to make himself available for the tour,but according to a senior BCCI official,the board hasn’t received Sehwag’s fitness certificate yet. According to the latest report,he could be fit by the time the second Test starts.

“Much will depend on Sehwag’s availability or unavailability. This is a series between the World No. 1 and a country that is playing some terrific cricket of late. A good opening combination would be key to our success. Most of their bowlers are rhythm bowlers and Sehwag can upset just that with his style of play,” a selector told The Indian Express .

That Gautam Gambhir,who skipped the ongoing tour of West Indies due to a shoulder injury,is fit is good news. But with no quality back-up opener for Sehwag in sight,the selectors will have a tough meeting ahead.

Murali Vijay has wasted his opportunities to cement his place as the first backup,while Tamil Nadu teammate Abhinav Mukund still has a long way to go as far as playing at the highest level is concerned. If Sehwag is fit,the selectors,according to the source,may not even include a backup opener.

With Sachin Tendulkar returning for both legs of the tour,the middle order will once again have a settled look.

Before the tour of the Caribbean,Suresh Raina’s place in the longer format was under the scanner and he was retained only because Yuvraj Singh and Cheteshwar Pujara were ruled out due to illness and injury respectively. After two Tests in the West Indies,Raina has made himself an automatic choice. Yuvraj,who has now recovered fully,might edge past Virat Kohli as the latter has failed to carry forward his ODI form into Test cricket.

Like Raina,Praveen Kumar too will muscle his way into the Test squad for the England series. The selectors are contemplating on sending five seamers and two spinners for the tour with fit-again Zaheer Khan leading the pace attack. Ishant Sharma,Sreesanth and Munaf Patel too are expected to make the cut. As for the spin department,Amit Mishra is expected to partner Harbhajan Singh as the English have traditionally been found wanting against wrist spin.