Mercurial Sehwag

Mark Taylor and Ian Chappell. Two of the greatest captains that Australia have seen; they're also commentators whose opinions are incisive and well respected.

During the third Test of India's tumultuous tour Down Under in January, at the WACA in Perth, India brought in Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan for Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh.

When Sehwag slashed two boundaries off Brett Lee to point and square third-man in the second innings, Ricky Ponting quickly got rid of one of the slips and placed him at third man. The ball was still new and the wicket was doing a fair bit.

Chappell, a big advocate of aggressive batsmanship, quickly said, "That's the impact that Sehwag has on captains. He makes them change strategies and defend."

"This is the momentum India were lacking in Melbourne and Sydney," added Taylor.

Chappell's brother Greg, who coached India between 2005 and 2007 always referred to Sehwag as an impact player during his time in charge.

And he's had an enormous impact over the last one year, especially in the longer form. It has resulted in the Delhi batsman being the lone Indian player in the World Test team announced by the ICC, in Dubai on Wednesday.

There is no Sachin Tendulkar. There is no Rahul Dravid. Both batsmen in the 10,000-run club and proud records.

What does Sehwag's inclusion in the elite list mean? Is he India's best batsman right now?

Chandrakant Pandit, former India stumper and Mumbai coach, feels his is one of the biggest wickets in the Indian team today.

"Speaking as a coach, I feel that you spend a little more time analysing his game, his strengths. Coaches, captains and bowlers.
South African coach Mickey Arthur did that when Sehwag blitzed his way to 319 in Chennai in March this year. The feat made him just the third batsman in the history of the game to score two triple hundreds in Tests. Arthur devised a plan to bowl short at him. Sehwag, who was batting on 309 at the end of Day 3 and was eying Lara's record of 400, could score just 10 more.

Pandit also stresses that Sehwag scares bowlers and has the ability to score big. "He plays aggressively and makes the opponents change their plans. And once he gets going, he scores big hundreds."

Sehwag's last 11 centuries have been scores in excess of 150. A staggering statistic. But is it fair to say that he is India's best batsman? Not if former Indian coach and dynamic batsman Sandeep Patil has his way. "Let's not confuse issues here," he stressed.

Patil urged people to take a close look at the list. "It's been selected according to the batting order. Sehwag is an opener and he has been chosen to partner Graeme Smith at the top, who is a left-hander." But surely there is something called current form? "Yes," admits legendary former Indian skipper and coach Ajit Wadekar. "It's also important to see the voting period (August 9, 2007 to August 12, 2008)," he added. "The players selected have performed well in that period and that is exactly what Sehwag has done. On current form, he is without doubt India's best batsman."
While Patil admitted that current form is important, he urges for some balance and perspective, commodities not easily available in an Indian cricket fan. "Don't write off the Tendulkars and the Dravids. They had one bad series collectively. It happens in cricket. What if tomorrow Sehwag has a bad time against Australia and the stalwarts score?"

What has surely got Sehwag the spot in the Test team is his ability to flourish against quality attacks and perform under pressure. Like the 201 not out he scored against Sri Lanka in Galle.

Former India opener Arun Lal, who watched the knock as a commentator, feels his confidence to attack in any situation is what makes Sehwag special. "He has a God-given talent and confidence to dominate even in difficult situations. He has a strange way of comforting the dressing room."

In fact in all the Tests in Sri Lanka, the pitch and the Lankan bowlers seemed fine till Sehwag was batting. The moment he got out, India's struggles began. Sehwag appeared to be at ease even against Ajantha Mendis while the other batsmen struggled. He handled Murali the best too, leading the great spinner to comment in one of his columns for TOI, "Sehwag played the spinners the best."