Virender Sehwag recalls incident before 2011 World Cup to point out mistake made by selectors in omitting Rohit Sharma


Virender Sehwag recalls incident before 2011 World Cup to point out mistake made by selectors in omitting Rohit Sharma

Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma’s omission from the Indian squads for the tour to Australia have stirred up quite a storm. There have been various speculations and questions raised on the same, but there hasn’t been a definitive clarification given by the Indian selectors as to why the star batsman was omitted.

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Rohit had suffered a strain to his hamstring in the ongoing Indian Premier League where he is captaining the Mumbai Indians. The Indian squads were announced when Rohit was not being picked by the franchise due to his injury. The guess was hence that the injury was the reason for his omission from the Indian squads. However, Rohit returned to Mumbai Indians’ playing XI, thereby making it clear that his injury was not a serious one by any means.

‘I was having trouble with my shoulder’ – Sehwag

Virender Sehwag

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag spoke to Cricbuzz on the saga surrounding Rohit Sharma’s omission from the squad. The dashing former cricketer stated that BCCI should have included Rohit and if there were worried about his fitness, they should have sent a replacement along with him. To explain his point, Sehwag recalled an incident in his career before the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Before the 2011 World Cup, I was having problems with my shoulder. When I got scanned, so there was a tear in my bicep tendon, and I needed to get a surgery done. I could not have gone without doing that. So I told the BCCI and Gary Kirsten to convey that I need to get a surgery. This happened in December 2010. They should take a call if they want to include me in the World Cup squad or not, because if I get a surgery done in December, I will not be ready for the World Cup,” Sehwag recalled.

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“The call was in Kirsten and BCCI’s hands and they said that ‘no, you get the surgery after World Cup, we will play you till then’. So I played Test cricket, but did not play ODIs before World Cup. Because I wanted to avoid getting more injuries. I kept doing rehab in the interim and also went to Germany to get injections. Everyone knew about this,” Sehwag further said.

“So, similarly, everyone might be knowing about Rohit Sharma’s problems – the selectors, the physio, coaches. Still, he could have been selected for the Australia tour. If he doesn’t get fit, then we will send in this player as a replacement or will send a replacement alongside him keeping the biosecure bubble in mind,” Sehwag said.

“Then we would not be having this discussion. So I don’t understand why he was kept out of the squad. If he is fit, and he plays the final, will the selectors have a similar stance? Then you are not keeping a good India batsman in the team – for what reason, no one knows,” Sehwag signed off.

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