Sehwag & Pathan handed first memo ….

With the World Cup closing in, it would have been injudicious to whip up knee-jerk changes in the Indian team. But there was no doubt that after the neat drubbing in South Africa, some big-tickets in the Indian team needed a shake-up.

To borrow a corporate term, Virender Sehwag has been handed his first ‘memo’. The charge, as we are given to understand, is his devil-may-care attitude. Form, at least in this context, is secondary.

Team India is a ship tossed by mixed waves. Vulnerability has accompanied promise and belligerence. Unanimously though, the two who held these traits and were billed as ones who could bring home the World Cup bacon have got the axe. Sehwag is one and Irfan Pathan is the other.

Given that Rahul Dravid would want his proven (although dwindling) resources for the mega event in March, it is highly unlikely that Sehwag would find himself by the wayside for too long.

For now it looks like India will reunite the old duo – Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly – at the top. However, should Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir open and get going, it would throw open an interesting equation. What then of Sehwag?

Chicken feed returns from all the investment on Pathan has been hurting India. Furthermore, his performance in his recent domestic cricket outings hasn’t been up to snuff. For now he may not be ready to ram into Chris Gayle. It remains to be seen whether twenty-three year old Joginder Sharma – whose rich haul of 38 wickets at an average of 13.89 has earned him Pathan’s slot – enjoys a long run or goes the JP Yadhav way.

The grand stage barely two months away, India has fouled up key positions – particularly that of the opening and the all-rounder. Sharma merits his recall but World Cup teams would comprise players who have gone through the inferno of international cricket. Calls into question: would eight ODIs suffice, assuming Sharma plays all of them?

You need a captain of the calibre of Imran Khan to burnish untested commodity into sizzling glory (Read: Pakistan v New Zealand 1992 World Cup). Return of Rudra Pratap Singh and Ajit Agarkar is reflection that India lacks such a charismatic influence.