Are Dhoni and Sehwag in a cold war?

Dhoni and Sehwag

When you thought Dhoni is a master strategist and has immense team management capabilities a new problem has surfaced upon Team India.  Is there a cold war going on between the Dashing Dhoni and Swashbuckling Sehwag? If the last two press conferences are anything to go by; probably yes. But before we assume that; Dhoni clarifies with his entire team at the press box as immediately that “Recent reports in the Indian media of a rift between myself and Sehwag amounts to nothing but false and irresponsible media reporting“. Oh was that so simple! But what made Dhoni say this, may be Kirsten. The coach now playing the role of a peace maker says “When we get accused of infighting, it hurt us”. He further clarifies that “There were individuals who felt that something needed to be done and something needed to be said. It was a collective decision”; regarding the team press conference.

The speculation about the rift between the two stalwarts arose when Dhoni commented when asked about Sehwag’s fitness as “I don’t want to make any comment about it. May be you should ask the physio to issue a press release“. Isn’t the captain missing the services of the most feared opener on earth? Or he doesn’t need the advices of his deputy? How can a captain not know about the fitness of his team’s vice-captain? What fanned this spark was this quote from Dhoni which said “I don’t know when he will get fit and whether he is a certainty once he gets fit”. Which sounded alarm bells for Sehwag whose place in the playing eleven was not guaranteed even if he is fit.

A similar report made the round in media circles way back in March 2008, when sehwag made 319 against pakistan after being dropped from the team. The report went under the  carpet soon and refurnished again after an year. Dhoni rise to captaincy saw many senior’s losing their place in the team, especially in ODI’s and T20’s. Dravid, Ganguly, Kumble and Sachin have all retired or were limited to playing only the test cricket.

Kirsten, Dhoni and Sehwag

Such reports of rift between Sehwag and Dhoni just before the start of T20 world cup is not a healthy sign for India. Kristen might have been successful in bringing the team together for a press conference, but will he be successful in bringing them together for the matches remains to be seen.