Virender Sehwag has been ruled out of the rest of the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches this season as he will undergo a surgery on his injured shoulder, a development which may also make him unavailable for India's forthcoming tour of the West Indies.
Australian all-rounder James Hopes has been appointed the captain for Delhi Daredevils for their remaining three matches.
Delhi Daredevils CEO Amrit Mathur said that Sehwag will be proceeding to England for the surgery and Hopes has been given the responsibility of leading the team in the remaining matches.
"We will miss Sehwag. But he has to undergo the surgery and that is why he will not take any further part in the IPL", Mathur said.
PB Vanchi, director of GMR Sports Pvt Ltd, owners of Delhi Daredevils, said that a mutual decision was taken after the Daredevils skipper held talks with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on his injury and was immediately advised to go for the surgery at the earliest.
"He has a problem. In the last match, too he struggled. The BCCI is making the arrangements for the surgery. They are waiting for a date. If he needs the surgery we are not going to be coming in the way," Vanchi said.
The Indian opener will travel to London for the surgery but the exact date is not known yet.
Sehwag is currently the top scorer in the IPL with 424 runs and his loss will further hamper the chances of the Daredevils, who are currently placed seventh in the points table and are left with only three games.
Sehwag's shoulder injury is a long-standing one which had forced him out of the two World Twenty20s and the ODI series in South Africa in January. However, he was declared fit in time for the World Cup after having undergone rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.
India will leave for the West Indies on June 1 for a T20 match, five ODIs and three Tests but it unlikely that the dashing opener will be available for the series. He may also be forced to sit out of the subsequent series against England.
