Sehwag will wear glasses while batting

The suspense over whether Virender Sehwag will wear spectacles while batting can be put to rest. An insider in the ongoing training camp of the Indian team confirmed to MiD DAY that the swashbuckling opener will wear glasses during the first Test against Australia in Chennai from February 22.

Virender Sehwag at the training camp in Bangalore over the weekend

"Sehwag will bat with his spectacles. He is getting used to them in the camp and is following his doctor's advice. Later on, he may go in for contact lenses just like Sourav Ganguly did," said a source yesterday. It is learnt that Sehwag has been wearing the spectacles at the camp for as long as possible to get used to them.

Sehwag, who relies heavily on his hand-eye coordination while batting, would hope to sight the ball better and rediscover his run-making ability. His last three-figure innings for India came during the first Test against England at Ahmedabad.

The Delhi dasher will be looking forward to take guard at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai which is a happy hunting ground for him. In five Tests here, he has scored 708 runs at an average of 101.14. His impressive record includes a triple century against South Africa in 2008. His first Test century at the ground came against Australia in 2004 when his 155 helped India post 376 in response to Australia's first innings score of 235. However, rain ruined any chances of play on the last day of the Test match and the pundits were left wondering what Sehwag (overnight score of 12 with three fours) would have done while tackling India's 229-run target.u00a0

Other bespectacled India players...

Pankaj Roy, Opening batsman
International career span: 1951 to 1960

Anshuman Gaekwad, Opening batsman
International career span: 1974 to 1987

Dilip Doshi, Left-arm spinner
International career span: 1979 to 1983

Anil Kumble, Leg-spinner
International career span: 1990 to 2008