OMGSACHIN: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar could be 'rested' for Asia Cup

As India's tour Down Under nears a disastrous end - they are virtually out of the ODI tri-series after losing to Australia on Sunday - the national selectors are in a quandary over whether to drop out-of-form opening batsman Virender Sehwag from the squad for the Asia Cup in March.

Apart from a poor run in Tests and having scored just 35 runs in his last four ODI outings, Sehwag has also been at the centre of an unsavoury ego clash with skipper MS Dhoni. The row was needless, feel sources in the Indian cricket board.

The board also wants Sachin Tendulkar to be rested, so that he can take his mind off the pressure of scoring his 100th international ton, BCCI sources said.

Though they have not singled out any specific player, the selectors, who meet in Mumbai on Wednesday, will also keep the "attitude of players" in mind while picking the team.

There is a feeling among a section of selectors that given the manner of his dismissals, the Delhi dasher needs a break to reinvent himself. Others feel Sehwag, going purely by reputation, deserves a longer rope and shouldn't be singled out for what is a collective failure by MS Dhoni's team.

In all likelihood, the selectors may choose to 'rest' him. "He is too big a player to be dropped. However, there could be a consensus on resting Sehwag," a BCCI source told TOI, adding: "The sympathies of the selectors are with Sehwag and he could have been a replacement as ODI skipper in place of M S Dhoni had he been among runs."

There is also pressure on Suresh Raina to keep his place. With the top order floundering, Ajinkya Rahane may get a look-in for the tournament which gets underway in Bangladesh from the second week of March. Another player who may make a comeback in the middle-order is Tamil Nadu's wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik. Bengal pacer Ashok Dinda, who sizzled on the domestic circuit this year, can also hope for a place.