Sehwag certain to play in first ODI

Virender Sehwag has recovered from his back problem and is certain to play the first one-day international against England at Delhi on Tuesday. Sehwag took part in the practice sessions on Sunday and Monday, and was cleared by John Gloster, the physiotherapist.

Earlier, there had been confusion about his fitness levels, with Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, saying that Sehwag has been cleared for the match, while GS Walia, the team's media manager, said that a final decision would only be taken closer to the match. Sehwag endured spasms during the third Test against England recently - he batted at No.7 in the second innings and failed to score.

Sehwag's presence will be a huge boost for India. Sachin Tendulkar has already been ruled out to undergo shoulder surgery in London and the loss of Sehwag would make a further dent in the batting line-up. Sehwag has already amassed more than 4000 ODI runs, with a strike-rate of 97.

India
Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Irfan Pathan, Venugopal Rao, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar, Rudra Pratap Singh