Sehwag hits back at Dhoni on skipper’s comment on seniors as slow movers on field

Taking a dig at Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s earlier statement that the top three Indian batsmen, including Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir were slow movers on the field and there were being rotated in the Tri-series, stand-in captain Sehwag - who took a diving catch at mid-wicket to send Mahela Jayawardene back - said: "Did you see the catch I took today? We are the same side for the last ten years. Nothing has changed. You have to ask Dhoni again about this. As far as we are concerned, he told us that we needed to give youngsters a chance to help them prepare for the next World Cup here."

According to a report in The Times Of India, Sehwag also refused the suggestion that he should sort out the issue with his captain. "Why should I have a chat with him (about what he said about their fielding)? When he says he is the captain and the leader and he and the coach think that they should give a break to the top-order batsmen, that's okay and fine with me."

Replying to a query if seniors were a liability to the side, Sehwag replied that MS (Dhoni) will be a better person to comment on that. “He will address you ahead of the next game and then you can ask him again. I am available for all the matches - last game I had a stiff back - so it depends on what eleven the captain and coach pick. If they tell me that we are giving a chance to youngsters and you take a break, I'm happy with that," he said according to an Indian Express report.

Speaking on the rotation policy, Sehwag said that he had no disagreement with Dhoni. "We didn't know what Dhoni said about us (seniors being slow in the field) and what was going on in the media. We had a meeting and myself, Gautam and Tendulkar chatted and we were explained that the team wants to give exposure to the youngsters here and so we agreed. It's better to give chances to youngsters in the early part of the triangular tournament. Now, towards the business end of the tournament, you have to play all your top players. It's a good strategy, but sometimes it works, sometimes it does not," he said according to The Hindu.

Sehwag, however, denied any rift within the team. “We are one unit, we are happy. He (Dhoni) is the captain, he can say whatever he wants to say. He addresses the media, has been doing it for the last two years, and we are okay with it,” he said.

On his own poor form, Sehwag wasn't too harsh on himself. "I'm still hitting the ball well. It's just that I am unable to convert good starts into big scores. I got twenty-odd against Australia but got out in an odd way trying to flick. In the coming games, I'll wait for sometime before picking the balls to hit."

Looking back on the defeat against Sri Lanka, Sehwag said, "We didn't play well in both the batting and bowling departments. We gave away too many runs in the last seven or eight overs that cost us. Also, our top-order didn't fire. We now have two must-win games so we have to play well, look at our shot selection and also bowl and field well," reads newspaper reports.