Sehwag and Ishant ruled out of ODIs

Virender Sehwag and Ishant Sharma have been ruled out of the limited-overs leg of India's tour of England. Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane and Jharkhand fast bowler Varun Aaron will replace them. Sehwag had not fully recovered from the shoulder surgery he underwent after the IPL, and is also suffering from a ear problem, while Ishant sustained a ligament injury to his left ankle during the Edgbaston Test.

Rahane, a top-order batsman, has been a prolific run-getter on India's domestic circuit and had a successful tour of Australia with India Emerging Players just recently, with two centuries in three first-class games. He averages 67.72 in first-class cricket and 38.61 in List A games. Aaron was also part of that tour to Australia and has been known to regularly clock over 140kmph. In his most recent first-class appearance, he took 4 for 40 and 2 for 49 against the Australian Institute of Sport.

Sehwag joined the India Test squad prior to the third Test at Edgbaston and has hardly made any impact in the series. He got a king pair and was dismissed for 8 and 33 in the final Test at The Oval, where he appeared to experience some discomfort in his right shoulder on the field before being attended to by the physio. A BCCI source told ESPNcricinfo Sehwag's shoulder had not completely healed and that he'll return to India at the conclusion of the Test.

Sehwag has also been experiencing hearing problems in his left ear after being exposed to a loud sound on July 24, according to the note sent by the National Cricket Academy physiotherapist Nitin Patel to the tour physio Ashish Kaushik when Sehwag joined the squad for the tour game in Northampton. "Mr. Sehwag suffered from labyrinthithis of the left ear on 24 July 2011," a BCCI release stated. "Although his condition has improved, he continues to experience headaches. An ENT specialist, who was consulted on the same, has said that he will take two more weeks to recover completely."

Ishant Sharma has had a busy Test series after taking over as India's spearhead in the absence of Zaheer Khan following the first day at Lord's. A board release said he responded well to treatment on his ligament "but will need to undergo a course of intensive rehabilitation and training to prevent recurrence of the pain in his left ankle."

India play one Twenty20 international and five ODIs against England after the Tests. The first ODI is scheduled for September 3.