Sehwag in favour of a defensive partner

Two days after Sourav Ganguly said that Yuvraj Singh would most likely replace Aakash Chopra as a Test opener, Virender Sehwag has suggested that he would prefer to open with a more defensive-minded partner.

According to a Times of India report, Sehwag said that a defensive opener could stay at the wicket for longer periods, especially in testing conditions. "In my opinion, one opener should be defensive," he said. "I need it and India need it. A player whose technique is correct and who can play 15 to 20 overs without any hassle and see off the shine. If the other opener is also a strokemaker like me, then nobody is sure if he'll last one over or 20 overs."

But before the media could blow things out of proportion, Sehwag added that he didn't mind opening with Yuvraj, as they understood each other. But he reasoned that it was easier for him to go for his strokes secure in the knowledge that the batsman at the other end was adopting a defensive approach. "I think my combination with Sanjay Bangar and Aakash Chopra is good," he said, "because both of them are very defensive and play the new ball easily. That gives me the option to go for my strokes."

Changing opening partnerships out of choice, rather than compulsion, appears to be a new phenomenon in Indian cricket. For the best part of the last decade, India's search for good openers was a fruitless one. More than 15 openers were experimented with, until Sehwag was uprooted from his middle-order position and asked to open. The move came off instantly, and he formed a reasonable partnership with Bangar.

It provided India one of its most memorable victories in 2002, at Headingly. But Bangar then made way for Chopra, whose understanding with Sehwag was reflected in their running between the wickets, and consistently large partnerships. They were most successful in Australia in 2003-04, in stark contrast to the disastrous opening gambits that had characterised the debacle in 1999-2000.