Virender Sehwag quits Delhi for Haryana

Virender Sehwag has quit Delhi to move to Haryana for the forthcoming domestic season. Sehwag confirmed in a text message to ESPNcricinfo that he had acquired a no-objection certificate from the Delhi & District Cricket Association.

'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," Sehwag 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."

Sehwag's switch doesn't come as a surprise. In fact, his departure from his home team was anticipated this season. Even in 2009, he had threatened to walk out, alleging nepotism and corruption in Delhi cricket.

According to a DDCA insider, however, Sehwag's move to Haryana is more about getting a youngster like Milind Kumar a regular place in Delhi's Ranji side than about Sehwag being disillusioned with the association. Last year, with Sehwag finding his touch with the bat in the middle order, Milind had to be benched for most of the Ranji season.

"He has applied for an NOC. Considering he is a very senior player and has got a better offer for personal reasons, we will respect his desire to move on," DDCA vice-president Chetan Chauhan told ESPNcricinfo. "We seriously admire his achievements and appreciated his contribution to Delhi and Indian cricket."

Sehwag tallied 568 runs at 51.63 in Delhi's disappointing Ranji Trophy campaign last year. With age not on his side, Sehwag is understood to have sounded off his close mates during the last year's Ranji season that he would no longer feature in the Delhi dressing room.

Haryana are set to gain from Delhi's loss. Despite having a balanced bowling attack, lead by Mohit Sharma and Amit Mishra, Haryana have struggled in recent years with a fragile batting order. Sehwag could well provide the missing spark in their inconsistent batting line-up.

Happy to announce that @virendersehwag will represent @haryanacricket in the coming @BCCI domestic cricket season. pic.twitter.com/pwX8jChxj2

— Anirudh Chaudhry (@AnirudhChaudhry) August 22, 2015