It was just three months back that Virender Sehwag had stepped down as captain of the Indian Premier League franchise, Delhi Daredevils.
His reason was simple he wanted to focus on his batting.
A few days before that the Delhi batsman had announced that he wasn't keen on leading the Indian team and had also quit as the vice-captain to allow a younger player an opportunity to groom himself.
The 31-year-old later backtracked on the former statement though saying, "I never said I did not want India captaincy. I only said I did not want to be the vice-captain as I want someone younger to be groomed for the job."
However a two-match ban to MS Dhoni means that Sehwag will again be back at the helm of affairs. Sehwag will lead the Indian side in Cuttack and Kolkata.
It was the second time this year that Sehwag had been asked to take as captain from Dhoni, the first being the second Test against New Zealand at MacLean Park (Napier), where the visitors had struggled to stave off defeat.
Ahead of his first assignment in charge, the third One-day International at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Sehwag was, however, quick to dispel any doubts that captaincy would be a burden.
"There's definitely no pressure," he said.
"It is not difficult to captain the team because I'm a part of it and I'm aware of the various strategies," he added.
For someone who had renounced captaincy to concentrate on batting wouldn't it be an additional burden?
"I have been a part of this team for the last eight years and I'm fully aware of what job I am supposed to do," explained Sehwag, before adding, "Whether I'm captain of the team or not doesn't matter, my job is to go out there and score runs."
But having MS Dhoni in the side would certainly have eased a lot of pressure.
"He is the best player we have in the middle order and it is because of his scoring that we could end up scoring big in both the previous matches. So we will definitely miss him," admitted the new captain.
So, has he charted out a plan of action of what he wants from the team considering the matches ahead are crucial ones?
"The team should stick together and try to do well in all the three departments of the game, especially fielding," explained Sehwag, before going on to add that Mike Young, India's new fielding consultant is not to be blamed for the poor fielding of the home team in the series.
"He has jus come in," defended Sehwag.
"It will take time for him to adjust to the set up," he added.
He also had an explanation as to why the batsmen had thrived on these wickets, while the bowlers suffered.
"The wickets are too good to bat on, no doubt," said Sehwag. "But it is also the batsman's thinking that has changed so much in the modern game that he is prepared to take on the bowlers.
"It is up to the bowler to work out a way to get the batsman out," he said.
Going by the way the batsmen have dominated on wickets conducive for the same, it is going to be a tall order for the bowlers ahead.
And therein lies Sehwag's biggest challenge in his latest stint as captain.
