After hair, weight, vice-captaincy, Sehwag may well lose his place

Dhaka, May 12 (UNI) The Nawab of Najafgarh is soon turning into a pauper.

Virender Sehwag is on the tour of Bangladesh but with a rider: Either prove or perish. And he has not done himself any favour with two scores of 30 and 21 to show from two ODIs against Bangladesh.

This does not mean he is absolutely out of form. He has it coming but in bursts and he wants to shore up as many runs as he can in those moments of spate.

A century, 114 to be precise, for a show against Bermuda in the World Cup in recent times will not be enough to book a ticket to England, unless the selectors think he needs more time to prove.

Skipper Rahul Dravid has been a fierce advocate of Sehwag, turning down any questions on the opener's form.

''He is a classy player. He has proved it. He just needs more time. He may bounce back next match,'' has been the captain's regular reply.

The fact is no one is doubting the class of Virender Sehwag. He is undoubtedly the maverick stroke player who dares to send the opposition into oblivion. However, one fifty and a century in the last 10 innings does not do justice to his selection.

He has lost hair, weight, vice-captaincy and his position from the Test team. And he is set to lose more unless he takes a break and goes back to the basics. The problem is Sehwag does not know when to put the cork once he starts fizzing. To make it worse, his feet are just not moving.

Eight years into the international scene, Sehwag has also lost some of his eye-sight that hold him in good stead even when he missed the length of deliveries. So he often hit down the line and with great success. Off late he is found wanting against in coming deliveries which means he has little chance of lasting long, and his drop from the five-day game.

His poor form has also affected his presence in the field. He is no longer the bubbling self who is always chirpy and has an opinion on everything. He is more reticent and tends to be on his own.

If Sehwag is dropped, his absence from the team would be a great loss for India.

But the question is how long a rope of hope should be thrown at Sehwag while he fathoms the depth of self doubt? UNI