Sehwag to lead in Dhoni's absence by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Player:	MS Dhoni, KD Karthik, I Sharma
Event:	Sri Lanka in India 2009/10

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DateLine: 20th December 2009

 

Virender Sehwag will lead the Indian team in the third and fourth ODIs against Sri Lanka after Mahendra Singh Dhoni was slapped with a two-match ban by ICC Match Referee Jeff Crowe for the team’s slow over-rate at Nagpur.

 

The National selection panel which met here on Saturday agreed on Sehwag’s name as the stand-in skipper. The dashing opener’s elevation was on expected lines since he is the unofficial vice-captain of the side.

 

“The ban on Dhoni is unfortunate. But we will have to grapple with such situations. We believe Sehwag can do the job in Dhoni’s absence,” said chairman of the National selection panel Krishnamachari Srikkanth.

 

He was concerned though at the quality of the Indian fielding in the series. “There is much room for improvement in this department. The fielding definitely needs tightening up.”

 

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik will take Dhoni’s place with the big gloves. He was a part of the side for the two-match Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka. Ishant Sharma comes into the squad for Sreesanth, recovering from swine flu. Yuvraj Singh, battling fitness concerns, has been retained in the squad. Dhoni will return for the final ODI in Delhi.

 

The squad : (for the third and fourth ODIs): Virender Sehwag (capt.), Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Sudeep Tyagi, Pragyan Ojha.