Virender Sehwag has been named as the captain of the Rest of India squad in the Irani trophy game against the Ranji trophy winners, India. Sehwag has been out of cricket ever since playing the IPL in May, when he tore his shoulder ligament. He did tour England for the ICC World T20, but did not play a single game, and was sent back from the tour.
Sehwag has also missed the four ODIs in West Indies and the Compaq Cup tri-series in Sri Lanka, not to mention that he will not be a part of the Champions Trophy either. But with him being named in the squad, it seems to be the first step forward for the Delhi batsman, who will also lead the Delhi Daredevils in the Champions League.
In the meantime, the selectors have also named the three squads for the Challengers’ Trophy. Earlier, the three teams used to be called India, India A and India B, but now, they have begun with an equal distribution of talent, and renamed the teams as India Blue, India Red and India Green. The India Blue side will be led by M.S.Dhoni, and will also have Sachin Tendulkar in it. India Red has Yuvraj Singh has their captain, whereas India Green will be captained by Suresh Raina.
Mohammad Kaif misses out from both, the Irani Trophy and the Challengers.