No country for old men - Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj and Zaheer face the comeback challenge

The Delhi lads – Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir signed up for Essex

The last one to fall, Sehwag retained his place in the side till as late as the second Test against Australia earlier this year. He was replaced by Shikhar Dhawan for the third Test, and with some Sehwag-esque batting, a dream run followed for the moustache-twirling Delhi southpaw. The doors, shut earlier, seemed to have been locked for Sehwag.

He did his dwindling chances no good with a cold IPL, save for that 95 not out against Mumbai Indians which proved to be a false dawn for him and his fans. His training at the MRF Academy has been the only news in the past couple of months which has hinted at him trying to work his way back into the team.

Sehwag has been selected in Delhi’s probables for the Challenger Trophy and the India A squad for a couple of four-day games against West Indies A.

His ex-opening partner Gautam Gambhir’s Essex experience so far hasn’t really created ripples, but his 106 against Gloucestershire, although against a weary and inexperienced attack, would have given him a confidence boost.

More than anything they’ve done on their part, though, the fact that there’s still some talk about their comeback indicates how bad a job Murali Vijay, the highest run-scorer in the series against Australia this year, has done at keeping the door firmly shut.

The Tamil Nadu batsman was included in the Champions Trophy squad, but after failing to impress in the practice matches, was replaced by Rohit Sharma, who himself found form, much to everyone’s surprise.

A mediocre outing in the tri-series in West Indies followed, where his scores of 30 and 27 failed to impress the selectors, who included him in the A-tour to South Africa, hoping for the batsman to come good before they made a final call on the opening position.

He played only four matches on the tour, and though the tour wasn’t a failure (he scored 60 and 40 in two List A matches, and 44, 4 and 0 in two first class matches), the lack of chances in the middle haven’t erased the question mark over his place in the national side.

Amidst the clouds of uncertainty that hang over the Indian calendar, the upcoming few months will bring more clarity on the case of the second Indian opener.

Shikhar Dhawan remains the automatic first choice for the top slot, and though Vijay hasn’t really forfeited his advantage, further instances of good-but-not-good-enough knocks will spell trouble for him.

He hasn’t been included in the A-squads against West Indies, but unlike Sehwag and Gambhir, will be playing in the Champions League T20.

If he fails to make the most out of this opportunity, it’ll be really hard for the selectors to overlook any coming-back-into-form innings from the seniors.