Sehwag to lead against Australia 'A'

Virender Sehwag will lead the Indians in the three-day cricket match against Australia 'A' beginning in Hobart on Friday. The visitors are keen to try out new combinations to prepare for the crucial Boxing Day Test at Melbourne.

The Indians, fresh from their historic win in Adelaide, will rest three of their frontline batsmen -- Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, but Sachin Tendulkar is likely to take the field to get some useful batting practice.

With the two opening batsmen not being able to get the big scores in the first two matches, the performance of the Sadagopan Ramesh will come under the scanner and the left-handed opener would be eager to prove his worth.

Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, who is yet to play a match since arriving as a reinforcement last week, will also be keen to impress the team management.

The match is quite significant from Australia's point of view as it would give the selectors the chance to have a close look at the performance of some of the fringe players -- particularly seamers -- for a place in the national side.

Australia are trailing in the four-match series and desperatly need a fast bowler to bolster their injury-plagued bowling attack for the December 26 Test.

The Australian selectors are concentrating on youth and that is primarily the reason why Greg Blewett and Michael Bevan have missed out on getting a berth in the Australia 'A' side.