There can only be one Virender Sehwag

In 1999,when I was the North Zone selector,it wasnt very hard to push for Sehwags inclusion in the Indian team

Madan Lal,who spoke to Jonathan Selvaraj,was North Zone selector for four terms between 1998 and 2001,and was on the committee that selected Virender Sehwag for both his ODI and Test debuts.

In 1999,when I was the North Zone selector,it wasnt very hard to push for Sehwags inclusion in the Indian team. It is not as if the other selectors had heard his name for the first time because he had been doing very well in the domestic competitions. More than the number of runs he scored,it was his attitude that impressed everyone. So all of us were aware that he had a positive approach and a lot of confidence. And that was neededfor India at that time. Of course,Sehwag got only one run in his debut against Pakistan. But as selectors,we had no problem in backing him because we knew he was all class. Luckily he got a century in his Test debut.

Honestly,I dont see any one like Sehwag in the next set of players that we have. But if I had to pick a few players to be part of the Indian side with an eye on the future,it would be Abhinav Mukund,Murali Vijay,Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Abhinav Mukund has got a few chances but has been able to contribute whenever he has got the chance.

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I would put Virat above Rohit because he has the attitude to the game that any selector will like. Rohit has class but I am not so sure about the attitude. Despite the fact that Murali Vijay has not performed so well recently I will still stick to him.

In fact,I would back all of these players for not just one series but at least a year. There is a big difference between Indian domestic cricket and international standards so it is unfair to expect all of them to make the jump immediately. We have a number of senior batsmen in the current side who are unlikely to play beyond the next two years,so we must have faith in these youngsters.

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