THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW DELHI — Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag has been ruled out of the remainder of the IPL due to a shoulder injury for which he will undergo surgery in England in the coming days.
Delhi Daredevils’ chief executive Amrit Mathur told The Associated Press that "Sehwag will miss the next three matches due to a shoulder injury and Australian allrounder James Hopes will lead the team."
Sehwag, who leads the scorers’ list in this edition of the IPL with 424 runs, may also miss India’s upcoming tour of the West Indies starting June 4.
Sehwag has been leading a new-look Delhi outfit without much success. The team is already out of contention for the knockout stage with only eight points from 11 games, and three matches to play.
The highlight of Sehwag’s stint in the IPL so far has been a blistering 119 off 56 deliveries against Deccan Chargers last week.
The opening partnership that he formed with Australian batsman David Warner was considered to be the most explosive of all the teams going into the tournament, but could not boost Delhi’s fortunes.
Sehwag, who was forced to miss the last two Twenty20 World Championships (in 2009 and 2010) due to the niggling injury to his right shoulder, had been declared fit in time for this year’s World Cup.
He started the World Cup with a magnificent 175 against Bangladesh in Dhaka but could not bowl his useful off-spinners though the tournament and also during the IPL.
India has a busy schedule after the IPL, starting with the tour of the West Indies, where it plays a Twenty20 match, five one-day internationals and three tests.
The team is then scheduled to tour England from mid-July for four tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 match, as well as tour games.