Dashing opener Virender Sehwag will fly to England to reinforce the embattled Indian team for the last two Tests, the Indian cricket board said Tuesday. Sehwag, 32, whose brilliant strokeplay has propelled India's batting in the past, missed the previous series in the West Indies and the first two Tests in England because of shoulder surgery in May. He was selected as the 17th member of the touring squad for England, but was allowed to join his teammates a fortnight late. Sehwag's fitness will be tested during a two-day match against Northamptonshire from Aug. 5 which precedes the remaining back-to-back Tests at Edgbaston and The Oval. Sehwag's return will boost India, which crashed to a humiliating 319-run defeat with a day to spare in the second Test at Trent Bridge Monday to hand England a 2-0 lead in the four-match series. The tourists, who lost the first Test by 196 runs, must now win at least one of the remaining two Tests and avoid defeat in the other to prevent England from taking over as the number one-ranked team. ‘Schedule catching-up' India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was looking forward to the chance to regroup after his side's crushing defeat by England again raised questions about players' workloads. India arrived in England hot on the heels of completing a Test series win away to the West Indies and then played just the one warm-up match, against county side Somerset. It subsequently lost the first Test by 196 runs at Lord's where left-arm strike bowler Zaheer Khan broke down with a hamstring problem that meant he didn't play at Trent Bridge. India has been without Sehwag for the first two Tests. Fellow opener Gautam Gambhir missed the second Test because of an elbow injury and there was a further setback for India when off-spinner Harbhajan Singh sustained a stomach muscle problem at Trent Bridge. Meanwhile Dhoni has hardly had a meaningful break since leading India to World Cup final glory against Sri Lanka in Mumbai in April. With national boards unwilling to cut down on the volume of international cricket which, through multi-million dollar television deals, provides them with the bulk of their income, and many players either unwilling or unable to say ‘no' to the immensely lucrative IPL, it appears something has to give. And, currently, the strain appears to be showing on Dhoni who was out for a golden duck Monday.
