Starting March 12, 2010, the IPL became the focus of the cricket-loving public. On March 26th, the BCCI declared the list of players for the T20 World Cup due to start in the Caribbean on April 30th. As usual, there was furore over some omissions and inclusions. It died down and the spotlight shifted back to the IPL. Then, rumours of scandals hit the IPL. In the midst of this hullabaloo, cricket lovers were all set to enjoy the semi-finals, when the bombshell dropped. The BCCI declared that Virender Sehwag was ruled out of the T20 World Cup as he was suffering from a shoulder injury which would take 3 to 4 weeks to heal. Every avid Indian cricket fan would surely have been stunned. It was almost déjà vu. Remember, the Sultan of Multan didn't play in the last World Cup either, but the script then was slightly different. He had gone to England and come back without playing a single match thanks to a shoulder injury which was declared late. He subsequently underwent surgery. Captain Dhoni made a statement on how players should not hide injuries, obviously hinting at Sehwag. There was also a rift between the team management and the media on the issue of Sehwag's injury. India lost all the Super 8 matches in the tournament. Coming back to this year's injury, nobody has any details as to how and when he sustained the injury and what is its nature? He had been declared fit when the squad had been announced. So it must have been caused in the course of the IPL matches. Sehwag played a total of 14 matches for the Delhi Daredevils and scored a total of 356 runs with an average of 25.42 and a strike rate of 163.3. But he has not looked comfortable in his game. He either sustained this injury in the last game where Delhi Daredevils played against the … [Read more...]