9 months ago
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India batting legend Virender Sehwag opened up on a rather unsavoury incident with former national team coach John Wright more than two decades ago.
Sehwag, who decimated the best of bowling attacks in the world with his fearless, attacking style of batting, revealed that the incident took place during a match against Sri Lanka in the iconic 2002 NatWest Series in England.
The ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’ had apparently been advised by Wright to not play any rash shots during the third match of the series — and India’s second — and Sehwag ended up doing precisely that, getting caught by Sanath Jayasuriya off Chaminda Vaas’ bowling as India were reduced to 26/2 in the powerplay after restricting the Lankans to 202/8.
“I had been dismissed playing big shots in the last three-four outings. John Wright told me to ‘just play and bat 40 overs and score a fifty, I don’t want to lose you’. I didn’t know much English back then and didn’t realise he was referring to me getting dropped from the side.
“I ultimately did what I usually do, and perished while playing a big shot for 20-30 runs (12). When I came back to the dressing room, he grabbed me by the collar and pushed me towards a chair,” Sehwag said during the launch of ‘Pitchside: My Life In Indian Cricket’ by former India team manager and administrator Amrit Mathur in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Sehwag revealed things got so heated between him and the former New Zealand opener that he threatened to fly back home almost immediately. Rajeev Shukla, who currently serves as the BCCI vice-president and was the Indian team manager back then, had to step in to calm the situation.
“I got so angry, I went straight to Shukla ji (Rajiv Shukla) and told him I’m heading back home. He anxiously asked me what happened beta? I told him, ‘that gora (white) hit me. How can a gora hit me? These goras ruled us Indians for so many years and continue to do so,” Sehwag added.
Shukla then played a key role in the patching things up between Wright and Sehwag although the latter remained adamant in his demand that he wouldn’t extend his hand until the Kiwi apologised to him.
Mathur, who documents his time as an administrator and the Indian team manager in the book besides his experience with the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in the initial years of the Indian Premier League, also added to the incident.
“From The Oval, we went to Lumley Castle (Chester-le-Street, Durham) and had a team meeting. In the meeting, Sachin (Tendulkar) raised his hand and insisted whatever happened between Viru and Wright in the previous match should stay within the group and not be mentioned to anyone else. And that is how it indeed stayed. Can you imagine something like that happening between a player and a coach today? It will be sansani (sensational). It will be Pokhran (nuclear bomb),” Mathur added.
India would go on to win the tournament, defeating England by two wickets in a memorable final at Lord’s in which Mohammad Kaif (87) and Yuvraj Singh (69) helped the Men in Blue chase the 326-run target down with a 121-run sixth-wicket partnership.
Even more memorable was the manner in which Sourav Ganguly celebrated the victory, taking his shirt off in the Lord’s balcony which has since become one of the most defining moments not only of his career and his stint as captain, but of Indian cricket.
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