Sehwag offered to play with painkillers

While confusion has reigned in England over the last five days over the status and exact nature of the shoulder injury suffered by Virender Sehwag, who was on Tuesday, ruled out of the World 20 championships, some clarity was provided on Wednesday by some of the his Delhi and Team India colleagues.

Sehwag's team mates in the IPL confirmed that the opener had suffered the injury during the tournament's semi-final match against Deccan Chargers in Centurion on May 22. "He dived to stop a shot from Adam Gilchrist off Ashish Nehra's bowling when he strained his shoulder," a Daredevils team mate, who did not wish to be identified, told The Indian Express on Wednesday.

Sehwag, he added, bowled an over after that but experienced slight pain once his body had cooled down after the match.

Another player close to Sehwag said he was advised rest so that his shoulder could heal in the two weeks leading up to the World T20 championships. Sehwag then proceeded to England with the Indian team, still in slight pain, and it was only after an MRI scan in England that a Grade I tear was revealed, the player said.

An Indian team source added: "Viru could still bat with pain-killer injections but there was a problem while throwing and bowling. He offered to get through this tournament if the team needed. But because he would've been a liability in the field, the management decided to ask for a replacement."

Zaheer Khan went through a similar injury in the days leading up to the World T20. He was initially ruled out until he Super 8s but recovered quicker than expected, in time for India's first match against Bangladesh.

Sehwag will now consult Dr Andrew Wallace, who had treated Sachin Tendulkar in the past, in London to decide his next course of treatment.

Dinesh Karthik, named as replacement for Virender Sehwag, will have to wait a little longer before officially joining his team in England.

Captain MS Dhoni Vice Captain Sehwag and Media

Nottingham (ICC T20 WC, 2009): Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Friday dismissed media reports about the reported rift between him and Virender Sehwag.

Dhoni, who was slated to address a press conference on the eve of their opening match against Bangladesh in the World Twenty20 Championship, only read out a statement on the entire team's behalf which spoke about the harmony and unity among the team members.

His brief statement primarily dealt with media reports in India about the alleged rift between Sehwag and him and he firmly squashed it. However, he did not take any questions.

Dhoni's comments on Thursday on Sehwag's injuries and a reply "May be you should ask his physio to issue a press release" lent itself to media speculation of a rift between the two.

"This message is for the people of India and for Indian cricket fans worldwide and comes from the whole team," the statement read out by Dhoni on Friday said.

"Recent reports in the Indian media of a rift between myself and Sehwag amounts to nothing but false and irresponsible media reporting," it said.