Will there be no redemption song for Virender Sehwag?

His innings’ would often be a flurry of cuts and drives and the faces of the opposition would often reveal a despair that most Indian fans marvelled and revelled in time and again. No one quite knew how to stop Virender Sehwag when he got going - strokes on both sides of the wicket, the audacity to plan them and the skill to pull them off.

Today, the world’s most feared opener is a caricature of his former self. He is old - 35 - and he isn’t scoring runs. In the Ranji season that ended for Delhi recently, he averaged less (8 mts, 13 inngs, 234 runs, avg of 19.50, HI 56) than Ashish Nehra and if that isn’t a damning assessment then nothing is. Clearly, the Sehwag we once knew doesn’t live here anymore.

His former coach AN Sharma recently criticised him in an interview to Headlines Today. The words used were harsh and unforgiving.

“Everything is going wrong for Sehwag. His timing, footwork, shot selection. There is no focus, no commitment… most importantly it seems that he isn’t working hard enough,” Sharma said.

No focus, no commitment… not working hard enough… and we are talking about the greatest match-winner India has ever produced. But now they say he is finished.

But how does someone so good, become so bad so quickly? We have seen great players walk away from the game at the drop of a hat, we have seen greats plan their farewells and finally we have seen greats fight their way back into the team because they wanted to bid goodbye on their own terms. The end is no doubt near for Sehwag but how will he choose to go? Will there be a redemption song?

Sehwag last played for India in ODIs against Pakistan in January 2013. His last Test was against Australia in March – in both cases, there may not be another one. And at some level, that should rankle. To let genius waste away into mediocrity is unforgivable given how few are blessed with it to begin with.

Sehwag’s last six years in international cricket are a study in contrast -

2008 - 1462 runs @ 56.23 2009 - 631 runs @ 70.11 2010 - 1422 runs @ 61.82 2011 - 384 runs @ 29.53 2012 - 505 runs @ 31.56 2013 - 27 runs @ 9.00

Clearly something happened in 2011. First, India won the World Cup and secondly, Sehwag got his shoulder operated upon. Even before he had recovered properly (he couldn’t throw the ball or bowl) he was recalled by a struggling India on tour in England. It didn’t help and from the looks of it, actually made thing worse for India.

Even then, was Sehwag already living on borrowed time? Fitness has always been Sehwag’s bugbear but now he needs to borrow two pages from the books of two bowlers who have staged incredible comebacks of their own - Zaheer Khan on how to get fit again and Mitchell Johnson on how to redevelop that intimidating aura again.

There is talk that the Delhi Daredevils might release Sehwag back into the IPL auction pool again this year and he really hasn’t given them a reason to do otherwise. But at least some part of Sehwag must be telling him that he can’t let it end this way.

And he must listen to that voice. For if anyone deserves to go out in a blaze of glory then it is the Nawab of Najafgarh. He always took a perverse joy in proving his critics wrong and he just needs to find the motivation to do it once more.

Knowing him, he will do it in a manner no one expects him to.