Is all well in Team India?

New Delhi:

Though India have an upper hand in the second Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur, reports of a rift in the team have resurfaced once again after the last year's World T20 Championship.

Reports indicate that skipper MS Dhoni and vice-captain Virender Sehwag have had a difference in opinion when Dhoni removed Amit Mishra's name for the playing XI in the Mirpur Test and included left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. Dhoni reportedly tried to convince the management that Ojha would be a better bet and got his way.

Sehwag had led India to a win in the first Test at Chittagong, which Dhoni missed due to a back spasm. Dhoni returned for the second Test as did India's leading off-spinner Harbhajan Singh after recovering from a stiff neck. Dhoni went for Ojha over Mishra despite latter's good performance.

Mishra was sent as a night watchman after Sehwag's dismissal in the second innings but he played his part better than expected. He scored 64 runs, including a fifty, and picked seven wickets in Chittagong. He became only the second Indian player after Sunil Joshi to achieve that feat. No explanation was given for his omission.

However, there were also reports that Mishra was part of the playing XI for the second Test, but his name was struck off on the eve of the game after a heated debate in the team meeting.

Last year also, there were rumours of differences between Dhoni and Sehwag during the World T20 in England. Dhoni had allegedly said that Sehwag did not tell him about his injury before the ICC event as Sehwag was out of the tournament due to injury. This left the rumour mills churning. But in an extremely dramatic and very unlike-Dhoni fashion, the Indian skipper had paraded his entire team in a press conference to show the team solidarity.

In the current series, India are taking on a comparatively weaker team. But any rift in the team is definitely going to affect performance and with a very tough season coming-up that's the last thing the Men in Blue would want.