NEW DELHI: India are not only missing their bowling spearhead - Zaheer Khan - in the ongoing Test series against England. They are also missing someone who is, in many ways, their batting spearhead - Virender Sehwag.

Zaheer limped out of the first Test after bowling just about 13 overs and is missing from the second Test roster too. Sehwag, recovering from a shoulder surgery, is slated to join the squad in England after the second Test. But there are doubts about him reaching full fitness by the third Test. And even if he plays at Edgbaston, he will probably be less than fully match-fit. Thus, India will still be hamstrung somewhat.

Why is Sehwag a spearhead? Because of his very high impact quotient and the aura that he carries. He grabs the initiative right at the top of the order and dents the poise and confidence of the bowling team. He has been the most feared batsman in world cricket for some years now. In fact, he has also been, arguably, the best Test batsman in the world since making his comeback into the Indian team in January 2008.

The pace at which he scores not only gives his bowlers plenty of time to get those 20 wickets, it often snuffs the fight out of the rivals. It's difficult for opposing captains to plan for such an iconoclastic talent.

Besides, Sehwag has a fetish for big, defining knocks. His thirst for runs is hardly ever satiated by a mere three-figure knock. That is why, 13 of his 22 centuries are 150-plus scores. India may have to pay a heavy price for Sehwag's absence in this high-profile series as players like him are virtually impossible to replace. He is almost as critical to the team's fortunes as Zaheer is.

What puts Sehwag in a different league among Test batsmen is his sensational strike rate of 81.91, which along with his average (53.43) makes for a telling combination. His post-January 2008 (his comeback month) stats are even more striking - 3,539 runs at 58.98 and a strike rate of 90.55! While the other top Indian batsmen compare favourably with Sehwag as far as averages are concerned for the same period (January 2008-present) except Rahul Dravid, their strike rates simply pale in comparison.