London, July 15: Sharing his thoughts ahead of the 100th Test between England and India to be played at Lords from July 21, captain MS Dhoni said India would miss the services of dashing opener Virender Sehwag in the early part of the series.
Playing against a strong England side in their backyard, India will miss their demolition man who averages a robust 53.43 in Tests. Currently recovering from an operation on his right shoulder, Sehwag miss the first two Tests against England. In his absence, Abhinav Mukund, who made his debut against West Indies, will open the innings for India along with vice-captain Gautam Gambhir.
Lamenting the absence of Sehwag, the Indian skipper said, “We, as a side, rely on our openers quite a bit. A good start helps our middle-order capitalise on it. As far as Virender Sehwag is concerned, there aren't many cricketers in the world who can have the impact he can. Of course we'll miss him, but the good thing for Indian cricket is it gives a chance to a youngster like [Abhinav] Mukund who can have a look at international cricket and see what areas he needs to improve [on]. Viru will be back at some point, but it's good to have Gautam [Gambhir] back as well."
"We've heard that he'll be over here for maybe the third and fourth Test, so we're crossing our fingers for that," India's coach Duncan Fletcher added on the subject of Sehwag’s availability for the series.
About the opposition, currently placed third in the ICC cricket ratings, Dhoni said, “England is a very good side, they regularly get plenty of runs. They take 20 wickets. We have to be at our very best.”
On the possibility of India losing their No. 1 position in Tests to England, Dhoni stated simply, “The basis of sport is to enjoy it. A lot of times you don’t enjoy sport while playing top class cricket. We don’t want to get into it — the ratings aren’t that important.”
