Cricket: Sehwag at the heart of Team India's problems

On the back of two convincing wins in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia has rubbed salt further into India's wounds by suggesting that their opponents' problems lie deeper than out on the fast, bouncy pitches down under.


An apparent rift in the Indian squad has been brought to light by a number of Australian players, who claim to have witnessed personal issues within the team. It's hard to believe that professional cricketers, not to mention some of the most talented and experienced in the world, are guilty of bickering like schoolboys and taking sides like schoolgirls, but this is apparently the case in the Indian dressing room.


Some would say it's not surprising, with team relations playing such a vital role in a team's unity and consequent performances, that India's poor displays have more complicated roots than simply poor batting displays. However, an Indian side with veterans such as Tendulkar, Dravid and Dhoni simply shouldn't let this sort of unsettled atmosphere even begin to creep into the dressing room.


What is surprising, however, is that one of these veterans is the cause of the problem. Virender Sehwag is "polarizing opinions in the Indian dressing room" according to the Australian Herald Sun newspaper.  It is almost juvenile that the apparent divided opinions in the team are not a result of the team's poor displays or how they can improve, but based on who should be captain. As I said before, schoolboy bickering. Here we're taken back to the playground with jumpers for wickets and flowerbeds for boundaries, and, like a tennis ball being lost over a hedge, India are losing their dignity.


Some members of the team want Sehwag as captain, whereas some see no problem with Dhoni continuing, apart from his debatable decisions to bat first. Australian seamer Ryan Harris told the Australian press that the Indians were "fighting amongst themselves" in Sydney, and this has been backed up by keeper Brad Haddin, who believes India "break quicker than anyone in the world" and blame each other for things going wrong on the pitch.


It is therefore evident that Australia were fully aware of the tourists' issues, which could suggest a reason for keeping them in the field for almost three days in Sydney, aside from Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey's outstanding innings'. They may have more experience than a developing Australian side, but India are certainly proving to be mentally weak. Even Tendulkar can't seem to muster the mental strength to reach his personal landmark. Is he weighing out Sehwag and Dhoni's pros and cons when he's 30 short of a century? Possibly.


If India are to achieve anything in the remaining two Tests, they must get in the nets and concentrate on their individual performances before worrying about who will call the toss in the next series. Sehwag's glaring lack of runs down under is due to nothing other than personal underachievement and a pretty dyer technique, along with an inability to adapt to Australian pitches. An opening batsman failing to put runs on the board is dreaming if he wants to Captain his country, so he and Dhoni need to put an end to the arguing before it puts an end to their cricketing status.