Virender Sehwag dumps Delhi, moves to Haryana Ranji team

New Delhi: Out-of-favour Indian batsman Virender Sehwag has finally decided to make a shift from Delhi to Haryana for the forthcoming domestic cricket season.

After having represented Delhi for 18 seasons since 1997-98, Sehwag, who took the NOC from Delhi a couple of days back, will now be seen playing for the Haryana Cricket Association and seemed pretty excited about his move, informed HCA Secretary Anirudh Chaudhry.

“I am really looking forward to playing for Haryana this domestic season. It is an exciting setup with a lot of youngsters in the side,” the 36-year-old said.

“It will be nice to share the dressing room with a side that is bubbling with youth. I will be looking to share my experiences with them and hopefully shape some of their careers in the process. I also hope to score well for Haryana this domestic season.

I would like to thank the DDCA for their support to me over the years and would particularly like to thank Mr Arun Jaitley, who in his erstwhile role as the President of DDCA guided and supported all the players and particularly me,” added the Najafgarh-born player.

HCA President Arvind Chowdhry said, “We are honoured that Viru has decided to represent our state association in domestic cricket. His contribution both on the field and in the dressing room has been superb. We are delighted and looking forward to a successful season ahead.” Anirudh is also eager to have someone like Sehwag in the Haryana side.

“To have someone like Mr Virender Sehwag will add a lot of experience to our young side. This is a team that is keen to perform and make a statement in the domestic season and Viru is just the right man to guide them. The team is bound to benefit from Viru’s leadership, experience and batting abilities. We look forward to having him in our side and start training with the team soon.”

The India veteran has played 104 Tests for the nation, registering 8586 runs and 23 hundreds under his belt.

PTI