Virender Sehwag pondering Delhi exit: Sources

Virender Sehwag pondering Delhi exit: Sources: Reliable reports have emerged that Virender Sehwag is seriously considering leaving Delhi and is expecting offers from a couple of state associations which will see him bid farewell to Delhi and play as a professional in the upcoming season. While Sehwag wasn’t available for comment, it is understood that he believes that with himself, Gautam Gambhir, Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia in the Delhi line-up, opportunities for younger players are increasingly being limited and it is best if he makes way at this stage in his career.

After having a rather poor 2013-14 Ranji season for a player of his class, Sehwag found some form last season, scoring 568 runs an average of 51.63 in eight matches, including two centuries. He finished only a run behind captain Gambhir, who was the highest run-getter for Delhi. In the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy though, Sehwag’s batting effort was not up to the expected standards, with 131 runs at 21.83 in six outings. Sehwag has maintained a strained relationship with the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) and even threatened to walk out in 2009, alleging nepotism and corruption in the organisation.

Sehwag, however, is said to be unconcerned about the goings-on in the association and is focusing entirely on planning the home stretch of his playing career. In an interview in December last year, he said he was keen to play for “another two-three years.”
If Sehwag does call it a day as a Delhi player, it will end a 17-year association that began with his first-class debut in the 1997-98 season.