April Fool’s Day Prank? Virender Sehwag to Open for Kings XI Punjab Against Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2018

Believe it or not, Virender Sehwag will feature in the Kings XI Punjab’s opening match of Indian Premier League 2018 (IPL 2018), according to KXIP official website. KXIP are scheduled to take on Delhi Daredevils on April 08 in their home game in Mohali. It must be noted that KXIP revealed the development on April 01, which happens to be the April Fool’s day. Interestingly, Yuvraj Singh too confirmed the news in one of his tweets. And looks like, Sehwag will come out of retirement. However, one cannot rule out it being a prank or a promotional stunt. KXIP initially broke the news on Twitter. “BREAKING NEWS: You're in for a real treat. @virendersehwag will take the field in Vivo @IPL once again, replacing @AaronFinch5 for the season opener. It's deja vu all over again,” read the tweet.

“Sehwag will come out of retirement and will open the innings in the absence of Aaron Finch. The decision, which was taken at the team preparatory camp in Mohali after a long deliberation by captain Ravichandran Ashwin, coach Brad Hodge, Director of Cricket Operations Virender Sehwag himself and the team management,” read a news article on KXIP official website.

“The ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’, who showed fine form in the recent Ice Cricket matches in St Moritz by scoring 62 off 31 in the first match and 46 off 22 balls in the second, reached the decision after practising in the nets with some of the current Kings XI Punjab team players,” it added.

Meanwhile, the website quoted Sehwag saying: “Initially it was just for giving the young boys some bowling practice. But I was seeing the ball really well and was able to play my strokes comfortably,”. “So when the question of who will open in the first match in Finch’s absence came up and Brad jokingly said my name I really started thinking about it.”

“Delhi was my karmabhoomi for a few seasons when I was a player, but my loyalties lie with Kings XI Punjab now. And when it comes to Gauti, his name itself is so serious that maybe watching me bat again will bring a smile to his face,” he added.

The website quotes KXIP coach Brad Hodge saying: “There were a number of names thrown up but somehow the team combination wasn’t coming together. But watching Sehwag bat in the nets gave me the idea of trying him in the opening match. We discussed this during the camp and he was more than happy to take the field once again.”

“Virender Sehwag has been the backbone of our team for a number of years and has proved what a team player he is. As usual, Viru has found us a way out. Fans will get to watch him in action at the IPL one last time and as a cricket fan myself I couldn’t be more delighted,” the website quoted KXIP CEO Satish Menon as saying.

Aaron Finch will miss the opening matches of IPL 2018 due to his wedding and as of now, it looks like Sehwag is back with a bat in his hand. Let’s hope it’s not an April Fool’s Day prank.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 01, 2018 08:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).