Virender Sehwag's injury has become a mystery and it deepens when he shows up for practice, like he did on the eve of Daredevils match against Mumbai Indians earlier this week, but doesn't play in the match and the team management doesn't wish to rule him out.
On Thursday, the eve of the match between Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad, too, Sehwag batted in the nets but there weren't any hints whether he would play or not on Friday. What all comes out is a vague statement. "Viru (Sehwag) is improving, he is getting better with every passing day. But we will take a decision on him only tomorrow. There is still 24 hours for the match, so there is plenty of time for him to be fully fit," Morkel said at the pre-match press conference here on Thursday.
For a team hit by multiple casualties, unavailability of a player of Sehwag's caliber - he was Delhi's top scorer last season - for the initial matches due to back spasms was like a catastrophe. And it showed in the results - Daredevils lost all the three matches they played. They topped the league table last season with highest number of wins.
As 'will he or won't he' question continues to loom large over the availability of Sehwag, Daredevils' chances of making it to the knockout round are getting over rapidly. It's high time for skipper Mahela Jayawardene to come up with a combination which can bring their campaign back on track. With Morne Morkel already back in side and David Warner hitting the ball as well as he is known to hit, the only missing link in the Daredevil's armoury is Sehwag.
In contrast, their opponents have had a dream start. Riding on the back of a formidable bowling unit led by world's best bowler Dale Steyn, the youngest side in the tournament started their maiden campaign with two back to back wins.
It is the outcome of Steyn's effectiveness that the teams have advised their batsmen to see off his overs carefully and target others. But he is not the only good bowler in the team. Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra have supported Steyn well to bring down the formidable batting line-ups. Thisara Perera gives them the all-round option. However, fifth bowler is a concern for them. So far they have been relying on part-timers like Cameron White, Ashish Reddy and Hanuma Vihari, which can be suicidal in a tight match.
Their main concern, however, is their batting, particularly the top-order which looks vulnerable in the absence of injured Shikhar Dhawan. Skipper Kumar Sangakkara, the best batsman in SRH line-up, has also been struggling to put runs on the board. White, Perera and Vihari have done well in the middle-order but it's a long tournament and in order to continue their success march, contributions need to come from every department.
With their batting the weak link, both the teams would look up to their bowlers to provide them the upper hand in the contest.