Johannesburg, Nov 17: Opener Virender sehwag has been virtually ruled out of the opening cricket one-dayer against South Africa here on Sunday, compounding India`s problems ahead of the five-match series.

Sehwag suffered a gash in the right ring finger before the start of a warm-up game in Benoni yesterday and it was revealed that the dressing on his wound would come off only on Sunday morning, barely hours before the day-night encounter.
The Delhi batsman needed four stitches to close the gaping wound and did not play the warm-up match against South Africa `A` which the visitors lost by 37 runs.
Although the team management said the injury was not serious, the fact that the stitches would come off only on Sunday makes it rather unlikely for him to take the field in the first game.
While the team`s media manager Rajan Nair did not give a clear indication on Sehwag`s avaibility, Chappell`s statement gives the impression that the dashing opener may not be in the scheme of things for the first match.
"His (Sehwag`s) injury is not serious as such but the stitches would come off only on Sunday morning and we hope the problem doesn`t extend beyond the first game," Chappell said after the warm-up game in Benoni.
The injury happened when Sehwag went for a high catch during practice before the start of the match.
Having gone through a prolonged form slump in one-dayers, Sehwag had shown signs of regaining his touch with a gritty half century against Australia in a Champions Trophy match.
India are already without the services of Yuvraj Singh, a key member in the one-day squad, after he suffered a knee ligament injury on the eve of the Champions Trophy match against Australia in Mohali late last month.
In case Sehwag does not play the match, India may have to choose between opener Wasim Jaffer, who seems to be a likely choice to partner Sachin Tendulkar, and wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik. Captain Rahul Dravid, who has opened in one dayers in the recent past, could also be an option.
There was, however, some heartning news for the Indian camp with coach Chappell having fully recovered from food poisoning which forced him to skip the team`s first practice session. Bureau Report