Sehwag's unwilligness to change costs him

Wisden India's Dileep Premachandran explores how Sehwag's go-to excuse of playing in his own inimitable style has finally come to haunt him, as he was dropped for the last two Tests against Australia.

Of [his] 23 hundreds, as many as 18 have come in Asia. When people, including Rahul Dravid a day or so ago, question whether Sehwag should be opening for India in South Africa at the end of this year, they're not having a cheap shot when a man's down. It's a legitimate concern, based on more than a decade of wretched underachievement.

India's next three tours are to South Africa, New Zealand and England. In 19 Tests in those three countries, Sehwag has two hundreds - Bloemfontein and Trent Bridge 2002, a lifetime ago. He averages 27.8 in England, 20 in New Zealand and 25.46 in South Africa. If the selectors did pick him, it would be an extraordinary leap of faith.