Karthik gets nod to replace Sehwag

The ICC has approved Dinesh Karthik as a replacement for Virender Sehwag in India's squad for the World Twenty20. The Indian board was told of the confirmation on Thursday.

Sehwag failed to recover from an injury to his right shoulder, sustained during the IPL. The ICC technical committee reviewed the medical report and was satisfied the reason was genuine and as such granted the BCCI the right to replace the players on medical grounds.

Meanwhile the BCCI sought to clear up the mystery over Sehwag's injury. The board was aware of his injury - a "minor" Grade I tear in the shoulder - before the squad for the tournament was picked, media and finance committee chairman Rajiv Shukla said, but hoped he would recover before it began. However, the injury was aggravated and he was ruled him out.

"The fitness report was submitted by the physio and it was suggested that Sehwag had minor injury which will heal in two or three days, so keeping that in mind he was picked in the squad," Shukla said. "But when the test was done in London it was discovered that there was an additional tear in his shoulder so treatment was done by giving him injections. But when the test was done a second time, there was no improvement so it was decided to send a replacement for him."

Sehwag's injury had sparked intense speculation in the Indian media last week after MS Dhoni, the team's captain, appeared reluctant to discuss the issue in public. Later, the entire team lined up before reporters at a press conference in a show of unity following reports of a rift on the injury issue between Dhoni and Sehwag, his vice-captain.

The BCCI's early silence on the issue added to the confusion till the decision to name Karthik as a replacement was taken on Tuesday. In fact, N Srinivasan, the Indian board's secretary, announced Karthik's name through a press release that was issued a few minutes after the team management told reporters in Nottingham that a final decision was yet to be taken on the issue.

Sehwag consulted medical experts in Nottingham today, even as the team's media manager dismissed media reports about the opener undergoing a surgery. He met the experts at a Nottingham hospital before arriving here with the rest of the team ahead of India's Super Eights clash against the West Indies at Lord's tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Karthik said he would draw on his experience in the IPL to perform in the World Twenty20. In 15 matches for the Delhi Daredevils, Karthik scored 288 runs at a strike-rate of 132.71 and his 17 dismissals were only one behind the tournament leader, Adam Gilchrist.

"Of course, I was disappointed when they decided not to take an additional wicketkeeper," Karthik told PTI. "But now I am happy about the opportunity given to me. I am focused to perform to my potential."