The Forgotten Soldier

We have lauded Rohit Sharma, applauded Gautam Gambhir, praised Dhoni and revered Tendulkar in these last five heady days. Yet, we seemed to have missed out one man Virender Sehwag - The forgotten man of the CB series. The strongest argument has been whether Ganguly and Dravid should be slowly pushed to retirement. But, there is a more pertinent question - which seems to have been conveniently forgotten/ignored - should Sehwag be in the team?
From five matches, Sehwag has scored 81 runs and taken 1 wicket. Figures which do not suit a top player. Unlike short three match series, the CB sries offers you adequate opportunities to overcome a downturn in your fortunes. So, Sehwag has been the one failure of India' successful ODI campaign.
This is not to suggest that Sehwag has been a failure in the long tour to Australia. Absolutely no. To me, he played arguably the second most important knock of the test series, from an Indian point of view, at Adelaide. Next only to Laxman's knock at Perth, it was of immense value in ensuring that India didn't go 3-1 down in a series which should have remained 1-1.
But, the sad fact remains that Sehwag has been a highly unsuccessful ODI cricketer. An average of 31 from 183 matches suggests a cricketer bordering on the mediocrity. In an era in which averages touching 40 are more the norm, Sehwag seems to me a more refined version of Afridi, the batsman.
So, what lies ahead for Sehwag? Is it an early retirement from the ODI scene? Or another chance. Will he turn out to be an Anwar or an Afridi? It is upto Sehwag one feels. Hopefully, he will prosper and peform to the levels he should.