Former India batsman and selection panel chief Chandu Borde on Friday advocated the inclusion of out-of-form batsman Virender Sehwag in the 15-member World Cup squad as the third opener besides Sourav Ganguly and Robin Uthappa.
"Sehwag needs to get back his confidence, but he's a contributor to the team's cause. Like Sachin Tendulkar, who showed yesterday what he's capable of after struggling a bit earlier, Sehwag too can murder the bowling," Borde told PTI.
"He should be picked for the upcoming Sri Lanka series. But I would not put him in the middle order as it's already packed with claimants. He should be the third opener along with Sourav Ganguly and Robin Uthappa who has been a revelation and is another multi-talented player," said the 72-year-old stalwart.
Borde, who captained India in one Test in 1967-68, said the emergence of exciting young talents like Uthappa and Dinesh Kaarthick had given the team more utility players and reminded him of 'Kapil's Devils' of 1983, the only time the country had come back triumphant with cricket's most prestigious trophy.
"The 1983 team (led by Kapil Dev) had a lot of players of utility purpose who could bowl, bat and field. The present side too seems to be progressing in that fashion and I am impressed by the young talent which has come up," said Borde.
{{/usCountry}}"The 1983 team (led by Kapil Dev) had a lot of players of utility purpose who could bowl, bat and field. The present side too seems to be progressing in that fashion and I am impressed by the young talent which has come up," said Borde.
{{/usCountry}}Pune-based Borde, incidentally, was in the selection panel that chose the 1983 World Cup squad and was the chairman of the committee that picked the subsequent World Championship of Cricket-winning squad of 1985 led by Sunil Gavaskar in Australia.