Virender Sehwag will return to his opening slot in India's first match against Kenya in the Champions Trophy cricket tournament in Southampton, England, on Saturday, but he has been told not to rush things and bat like he does in Test matches.
India's captain Sourav Ganguly said Sehwag had been dropped in the batting order for one game so that he could watch play a bit and regain his confidence.
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Most of the Indian players did not turn up at the ground because it rained and there was no way they could have had outdoor nets. The batsmen instead practised with bowling machines.
Ganguly said Sehwag has been instructed 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 stroke-maker 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."
Ganguly feels Sehwag is too good a batsman to fail again and again, though things have not gone his way lately.
"He has been opening all the time and he's been exposed to the new ball and it has not gone his way recently. Sometimes it helps if he can sit with his pads on and watch play for a bit. That is why he went to bat low down the order in the Lord's game."
Sehwag batted at number four while Laxman opened in the third one-day international of the NatWest Challenge against England at Lord's last Sunday and Ganguly further explained the reasons why he did so.
"We just changed the system which he has been going through for quite some time. The shine would go away a bit and the ball would get older by the time he came in to bat. The main bowlers would have finished 5-6 overs whether it is Harmison or Gough. It was just a bit of a change for him so he could get runs, get his confidence back and get back to opening."
As far as tomorrow's match is concerned, Ganguly is not taking his opponents lightly.
"They are a dangerous side. They have gone to a World Cup semi-final so they cannot be that ordinary a team. All I can say is that they are not the worst cricket team around. Whether it's Kenya or anyone else we'll still have to give our best because anything can happen in this competition."
Ganguly does not think winning the toss is all that important in these conditions.
"Winning the toss is not that important because the wickets basically have been good. It doesn't make that much of a difference batting first or bowling first. To be honest in the three one-day games we played in the NatWest Challenge, I don't think it made any difference."
The captain termed the pitch as damp and said if it remains so, he would go into tomorrow's game with three medium-pacers.
"The pitch was damp yesterday even when the weather was fine. So I assume they have been watering it. With all the rain about it, it could be damp tomorrow as well. If it is damp, we would like to go with three seamers."
Looking ahead in the tournament, Ganguly did not think Pakistan, who are in the same group as India, have an edge given their two wins in Sri Lanka and in Holland.
"I don't count Holland game much because it was a 30-over game. In Sri Lanka, yes, they played better than us. But I don't think they have an advantage. Any team which plays well on that particular day wins."
Ganguly believes a total of 260 could be a winning one in these conditions and wants his batsmen to hit their straps quickly.
"The ball swings and seams around. The new white ball will do quite a bit in the initial stages. There's something in it for bowlers early on so we'll have to see through that period.
"A total of 250-260 could be a winning one in England, it is not necessary that you have to get 300.
"But we have to bat better than we have done so far. We cannot win one-day games consistently if we just put 200 runs on the board."
Ganguly looked good as an opener in the last few weeks but said he does not mind if he bats at number one or three.
"Frankly there is not much difference if you bat at number one or three, I am happy batting at number three and happier if I am opening."
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