Sehwag?s failure a cause for concern

Sehwag's responsibility increases in Sachin's absence. For him to throw his wicket away should be a growing concern for India, writes Kris Srikkanth.

The Kenyans may have been the semi-finalists of the 2003 World Cup but the lack of resistance from them against the Indians in their ICC Champions Trophy opener is a cause for worry. They seem to have made no progress whatsoever from their dream run in South Africa a little over a year ago.

The Indians, for their part, will not be complaining too much. The format of this tournament gives every team a 'soft' first match opponent and Sourav Ganguly's team took full advantage of the draw to boost their confidence.

But be warned that matches against sides such as Kenya are akin to a double-edged sword. On the one hand, while any good performance leads to a rise in confidence, you cannot take too much from such wins either.

When there's hardly any fight being put up by your opposition, it does not give a team a real picture of its strengths and weaknesses.

It is good though that the Indian batting finally fired in near unison. But the continuing failure of Sehwag is now a cause for real concern. He seemed to be determined to get it all together when he threw it away with a totally uncalled for heave. Sehwag has been leading the way for India in the last couple of seasons and his responsibility only increases in the absence of Tendulkar and so for him to throw his wicket away in the manner that he did, disappointed me no end.

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