Australian summer

Virender Sehwag8217;s selection for the tour of Australia says more about the current Indian cricket team than it does about him. His non-inclusion in the 24 probables earlier announced showed a glaring lack of planning. Australia are the most exacting hosts in international cricket. And in the grandness of their preparations and strategising, they make the final outcome so much more than the sum of individual results. A good 8220;Australian summer8221; is any cricket team8217;s dream; a bad one can put a team out of gear for many seasons. The value of a hard-fought drawn Test series in 2003-04 carried India through a great stretch. And it is important to recognise Sehwag8217;s place in that effort.

After that series 8212; threaded as it was by Rahul Dravid8217;s determined knocks and Sachin Tendulkar8217;s uncharacteristically gritty endurance 8212; the Australians were quick to mark the difference in the team. It was, they said, the quality of India8217;s opening batsmen. To that role Sehwag brought more than the ability to negotiate the new ball. To it he added a capacity to stun the opponents. This is the last time in Australia for so many of our cricketers: Dravid, Ganguly, Kumble, Tendulkar and possibly even Laxman. But it will not define any of them the way it will Sehwag. Australian conditions 8212; the tracks and the keenness that it brought to the rivalry 8212; suit Sehwag. For Sehwag, they set the stage for a test of character. When the going goes wrong, his very strengths become his weaknesses 8212; that impetuosity, that willingness to dance to an unknown drummer, that disregard for the state of play or anybody else8217;s reputation. He comes back to the team on the tail of a string of unexceptional performances. A bad stretch is Australia will relegate him back out of the big league.

But India in Australia have an equal need for Sehwag. They cannot punch with their formidable middle order in those conditions, they must count on a decent opening assault. Put together, one of

Indian cricket8217;s great stories could unfold in coming weeks.