Sehwag to return as opener against Kenya

Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly said Sehwag had been dropped in the batting order for just one game so that he could get his confidence back.

Virender Sehwag will be restored to his opening position in India's opening game against Kenya in the Champions Trophy cricket on Saturday but he has been asked not to rush things and bat as he does in Test matches.

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said Sehwag had been dropped in the batting order for one game so that he could watch play a bit and get his confidence back.

"It was a one-off game (at Lord's) - Sehwag will be back as an opener and Laxman will come at number three," Ganguly said after an indoor net session alongwith Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan at Rose Bowl on Friday morning.

Most of the Indians did not turn up at the ground because it rained this morning and there was no way they could have had outdoor nets. The batsmen instead practised with bowling machines.

Ganguly said the instruction to Sehwag was to bat the way he does in Test cricket and judge the ball on merit before unleashing his strokes.

"We have spoken to him. He scores runs in Tests all around the world. You have to understand he is a strokemaker and it is not fair to ask him to just go and defend or leave balls outside the off-stump. That's not the way he plays and that's not the way he has scored all his runs.

"But he should probably bat the way he does in Test cricket. He should look to play the ball on merit rather than just try to get the maximum runs straight away."