Sehwag to undergo shoulder surgery, out of IPL

Virender Sehwag will miss the rest of the IPL after deciding to undergo surgery on his injured right shoulder. The operation will take place later this week and, with recovery time pegged at six to eight weeks, it should rule him out of India's upcoming tour of the West Indies from June 4, and perhaps even the England series that begins in mid-July.

Sehwag picked up the injury, a slap lesion or labrum (shoulder blade) tear, during the 2009 IPL. He travelled to England for the World Twenty20 in 2009 carrying the injury, but did not play any of India's matches and consulted with Andrew Wallace, the London-based surgeon who had worked on Sachin Tendulkar's tennis elbow.

A BCCI source said it would take a minimum of six to eight weeks for Sehwag to recover and following rehabilitation protocols will be important. "The possibility of Sehwag missing the England tour is high," the source said.

"It will be a miracle if he plays another match," PB Vanchi, director of GMR Sports, owners of Delhi Daredevils, said. Delhi - who will now be led by James Hopes - are presently seventh in the points table and, with three games left, have a slim chance of making it to the qualifiers.

Vanchi said the decision was taken after Sehwag held talks on his injury with the BCCI, who advised him to undergo surgery as soon as possible. "He has a problem, he struggled in the last match too. The BCCI is making the arrangements for the surgery," Vanchi said. "They are waiting for a date. If he needs surgery we are not going to be coming in the way."

Sehwag confirmed the development and is expected to travel to London at the earliest for the surgery. The injury is the same one that had ruled him out of the two World Twenty20s and, more recently the one-day series in South Africa in January. Sehwag was declared fit in time for the World Cup after having undergone rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. Though he did not bowl during India's victorious campaign, Sehwag finished seventh overall in the run charts, in the tournament, including a blistering century in the opening game against Bangladesh.

Sehwag's decision to play the IPL was always going to be potentially risky, especially in light of the heavy workload during the World Cup. But he had the dual responsibility of leading Delhi as well as being their best batsman. Sehwag is currently the top scorer in the IPL with 424 runs and his loss is likely to further hamper Delhi's chances, who have managed just four wins out of their 11 games played so far.