Can Virender Sehwag cash in on this opportunity?

Virender Sehwag is probably facing the sternest test of his illustrious career Ever since the second Test against Australia in Hyderabad in March the Delhi opener has fallen out of favour with the national selectors To make matters worse a poor Indian Premier League season for Delhi Daredevils except for 95 not out against Mumbai Indians ensured Sehwag remained sidelined from national reckoning Virender Sehwag leaves the field after being dismissed during the Adelaide Test against Australia in early 2012 PICGetty Images The rise of southpaw and Delhi teammate Shikhar Dhawan as opener was another deterrent to Sehwagrsquos prospects of reclaiming his placeu00a0However therersquos fresh hope for Sehwag after Sandeep Patil amp Co included him in the India lsquoArsquo squad for the West Indies lsquoArsquo series Sehwag will be a part of the second and third fourday games against the visitors Apart from Sehwag Gautam Gambhir Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan have also been handed a lifeline Gauti Yuvi can wait While Gambhir 31 and Yuvraj 31 can afford to wait a bit longer this opportunity could well make or break Sehwagrsquos international career as he will be turning 35 on October 20 Keeping the South African tour in mind the swashbuckling batsman will have fewer opportunities to impress the selectors ldquoIt is too early to talk about the South Africa tour I pray he goes to South Africa though Firstly how he performs against the West Indies lsquoArsquo team is important u00a0ldquoThis opportunity will give him a chance to revive his career It will certainly have a huge role to play in taking his career aheadrdquo Sehwagrsquos childhood coach AN Sharma told MiD DAY from New Delhi yesterday Now that Sehwag is included in the lsquoArsquo team coach Sharma has sent a clear message to his ward ldquoIt is a good thing that he is back But he needs to stay for a longer period at the crease as the competition is a lot tougher I have told him thisrdquo said Sharma u00a0Late last month Sehwag shifted his base from Delhi to Chennai to train at the MRF Pace Foundation which is headed by Australian pace great Glenn McGrath ldquoHe has shifted to Chennai to avoid rains in Delhi He would get to face quality bowlers thererdquo Sharma said Consistency the key Former India selector Madan Lal felt Sehwag would have to prove his consistency ldquoIt is not just about one or two games He will need to perform consistently for at least three to six months You just cannot drop youngsters who are performing well ldquoSehwagrsquos hunger to play at the highest level will also be one of the crucial factors in getting back into the teamrdquo said the 1983 World Cupwinning member Sehwag isnrsquot new to comebacks In January 2007 the Nawab of Najafgarh was dropped from the ODI and Test teams He made a remarkable return to form a year later to reestablish himself as one of the best batsmen in the world and was also reappointed vicecaptain for Tests and ODIs u00a0However this time the pressure is immense said Madan ldquoWhen you are out of the team you have to perform three times more to return Making a comeback is always difficult It depends how strong he is mentally It also depends on what the captain thinks There are many other factors that go into a selection Performance however is the No 1 criteriardquo he signed offu00a0