Virender Sehwag, recuperating from a shoulder surgery, was shaping well for the Champions Trophy, according to Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who said the dashing opener may however not be ready for the tri-series in Sri Lanka in early September.
"He is improving every day. He is putting in a lot of effort to get ready for the Champions Trophy," Dhoni said on Thursday.
On Sehwag's chances of playing in the tri-series in Sri Lanka starting on September 8, Dhoni hinted the batsman may have to sit out of the event.
"It's (tri-series) too soon, with just a few days to go," he said.
Sehwag had injured his shoulder during the semifinal of the second edition of the Indian Premier League in South Africa and he underwent a surgery for the the Grade II lesion at a Nottingham hospital in June.
Since then, Sehwag has been following a rehabilitation programmed, which makes him doubtful not only for the September 8-14 tri-series in Sri Lanka but also cast a cloud of doubt over his availability for the Champions Trophy in South Africa starting on September 22.
Dhoni said apart from Sehwag, there were no other injury issues and the players looked in perfect shape for a hectic schedule ahead.
"We just had a mid-term fitness test and we'll have a camp before the tri-series to get back into the groove and get ready for the long season ahead," Dhoni said.
The Indian captain was here to announce the second season of the September 9-13 Kolkata Fashion Week, of which he is the brand ambassador.
Dhoni had appeared in fashion shows along with model-turned-actress Deepika Padukone.
Asked if he would team up with the actress again at the Kolkata Fashion Week this year, Dhoni's reply had the audience in splits.
"During the period, I would not be in Kolkata. I will be playing in Sri Lanka. So I'll be walking the ramp there with the likes of Yuvraj Singh and fellow cricketers from New Zealand and Sri Lanka," he quipped.
On a serious note, Dhoni said Kolkata was close to his heart since he played a lot of cricket here early in his career.
"Right from my under-13, under-16 and under-19 days when I was playing for Bihar, now Jharkhand, a number of times we played at Eden Gardens.
"Apart from that, I used to play P Sen Trophy for Shyam Bazar Club and I remember a good innings against East Bengal.
I played a number of Ranji matches against Bengal at Eden," he recalled.
"When I was working with Railways in Kharagpur, I spent quite a good time here. I understand Bengali, can speak a bit. Kolkata is very close to my heart," he said.
source by:cricketnext.in.com
