Sehwag set to return

New Delhi, February 1:

Virender Sehwag is being tipped to play in the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka as the selectors explore all options before naming their World Cup squad.

Sehwag would normally have been considered an automatic selection for the showpiece event starting in the Caribbean on March 13. But the 28-year-old was axed for the West Indies series following his poor form on the South African tour with the chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar advising him to “sort out his batting.”

With the World Cup squad to be named on February 12, the selectors need to play Sehwag in the first two of four matches against Sri Lanka on February 8-11 to judge his form.

The problem, however, lies in finding a suitable spot for Sehwag. His favourite opening position appears to have been taken by back-in-form Sourav Ganguly and young Robin Uthappa following their fine display against the West Indies.

One of the current middle-order batsmen — skipper Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthick or Mahendra Dhoni — will have to be rested against Sri Lanka to accommodate Sehwag.