Blaming selectors for wrong doings is an age old practice in Indian cricket. More often than not, they deserve the stick. But like wicket-keeping, where you only get noticed if you drop a catch or fumble balls, if the selectors have taken an inspired decision, which helped dramatically transform the fortunes of the team they hardly get credit for it. Virender Sehwag's inclusion was one such decision.
Out in the cold for a while and scoring almost nothing in domestic cricket, Sehwag was picked on reputation and past performance for India's tour of Australia in December 2007. He was almost a living memory, who had been resuscitated from the dead for one final time. While the skipper had a major role in the picking, primary credit must go to Dilip Vengsarkar and company. Once picked, Sehwag, legends like Gavaskar were insistent, had to play. He wasn't part of the Indian team for the first two Test matches at Melbourne and Sydney. India, for the record, lost both games. Once picked at Perth, he gave India the momentum the team needed and helped script the best ever victory on Australian soil. At the WACA, India had amassed 56 in the first hour courtesy Sehwag. The battle was finally on. What followed his all round heroics at Perth was a match saving hundred at Adelaide and now he has come up with the Chennai Chamatkar (miracle), labelled by many like Vengsarkar as the best Test innings ever seen.
