Don't Be Stupid, Chappell
Virender Sehwag is out of form. There is no doubt about it. Everyone and his uncle is asking for him to be dropped. Especially the weather-vane media. I am not ntirely opposed to the idea of giving him a jolt by dropping him. I just don't think this is the right time to drop him.
He is a man who sets up wins when he gets going. Sehwag firing puts you in the driver's seat. It takes extraordinarily bad cricket to lose a match from there. He scores big hundreds at a rapid clip on a fairly regular basis. And he has done that as recently as 5 tests ago at Gros Islet when his almost run-a-ball 180 set up a win which was turned into a draw only because of a whole day being lost to rain. Granted that he has been in poor form recently. But the odds of his firing, especially on a pitch like Newlands, are still high enough to make his inclusion a worthy gamble.
If he still fails, maybe dropping him for the next series can be considered. But not before the series decider. Especially not when the possible replacement is Gautam Gambhir of all people.
He is a man who sets up wins when he gets going. Sehwag firing puts you in the driver's seat. It takes extraordinarily bad cricket to lose a match from there. He scores big hundreds at a rapid clip on a fairly regular basis. And he has done that as recently as 5 tests ago at Gros Islet when his almost run-a-ball 180 set up a win which was turned into a draw only because of a whole day being lost to rain. Granted that he has been in poor form recently. But the odds of his firing, especially on a pitch like Newlands, are still high enough to make his inclusion a worthy gamble.
If he still fails, maybe dropping him for the next series can be considered. But not before the series decider. Especially not when the possible replacement is Gautam Gambhir of all people.
