Dhoni’s India comeback looks difficult: Sehwag

Ahmedabad: India’s former opener Virender

Sehwag

feels that former India skipper Mahendra Sigh Dhoni’s comeback into the Indian fold looks very difficult. The selectors have already moved forward and found replacements for Dhoni, he said.

“Who will he replace? With the likes of Rishab Pant and KL Rahul already in form, especially the latter performing exceptionally well of late, I think there is no reason why should we not stick with them,’’ said the 41-year-old, who was in the city to inaugurate a sportswear store on Tuesday.

On India’s dismal run in New Zealand, especially in the one-dayers and the Test series, the swashbuckling opener said the Kiwis played better than us after losing the T20I series. “We must admit that the Kiwis were superior to us in the ODIs and Tests. In the T20s, Kiwis lost close matches and in the shortest format it is always difficult to make a quick comeback,’’ he said.

On Indian captain Virat Kohli’s poor form in recent times, Sehwag said Virat’s form has dipped.

“He is a class batsman but that has happened to all the great batsmen in different eras be it Sachin Tendulkar, Steven Waugh, Jaques Kallis or Ricky Ponting,’’ said Sehwag.

And who are the favourites for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year? “I think in T20, one cannot predict favourites. Such is the unpredictable nature of the format, any single player can change the complexion of the game on a given day,’’ he said.

“The return of Hardik Pandya will make a huge difference to the Indian team. The whole combination will change with an all-rounder of the caliber of Hardik,’’ he said.

With the recent rise of teams from Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy, Sehwag said most of the traditional powerhouses were going through a transition period. However sides like Saurashtra, Gujarat and Bengal have their key players available throughout the Ranji season and as a result they are more consistent and able to play better than others. For example, Delhi miss players of the stature of Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishab Pant and Ishant Sharma, who are mostly on national duty and are unavailable for their side in domestic competitions. Whenever top players have played the domestic season for Delhi, the team has at least reached the semifinals.’’

Sehwag has fond memories of Ahmedabad where he slammed the last century of his Test career at the Sardar Patel Stadium at Motera. “I vividly remember my last Test century against Alistair Cook-led England at Motera. That memory is very special to me,’’ he concluded.

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