Virender Sehwag looks a worried man at the Keenan Stadium on Wednesday

Jamshedpur: Virender Sehwag, under pressure to perform, thinks taking a rest in the last of the seven-match ODI series in Indore could be a good option for him. According to him, the same can also be applicable for Mohammed Kaif.

“Sometimes you need a break because you have been playing so much and you are not thinking about your batting. So in this sense, rest is a good option,” India’s stand-in captain said after the five-wicket loss to England at the Keenan on Wednesday.

“May be I’ll not play in Indore,” he added. Does Kaif also need a break? Sehwag said the thinktank might look into the issue. “May be we could rest Kaif also. But in the next match, Rahul Dravid will come back to lead the side and it depends on what combination he wants,” observed the opener.

While Sehwag perished in the first over of the Indian innings, Kaif couldn’t capitalise on a reprieve ? Paul Collingwood dropped him off James Anderson when he was on nine ? before being eventually dismissed for 15.

Sehwag, however, clarified that rest is being given to the players because “they deserve it and not because they are not performing.” In the same light, he also refused comment on Kapil Dev’s views that he and Kaif need to be rested. “It’s his comment and I won’t react to it,” he said.

Backing the inexperienced attack, Sehwag attributed Wednesday’s defeat to a “batting failure.” “Somebody should have stayed along with (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni and developed a partnership. It could have been Kaif, Raina, Yuvraj or me,” he said.

“True we had an inexperienced side. Sometimes the bowlers click, sometimes they don’t. But we need to give them chances at regular basis so that they can gain experience and deliver in future.”

He, however, admitted that debutant Vikram Rajvir Singh was under pressure. “It’s not easy to perform in the first match. Even I got out for one on debut. I think guys who manage to perform well on debut are really lucky ? May be VRV was feeling the pressure,” Sehwag said.

He also stressed that experimentation would continue in the final match. “Since we have won the series, it will be ideal to give chances to those who haven’t played so far. Robin Uthappa didn’t get a chance here? May be he will play in the last match.”

Sehwag also downplayed failures in the top-order, saying, “It’s all about winning combination. Captains generally don’t want to break it. Even if our top-order has failed, the middle-order clicked,” he quipped.