Ganesh Kendale
During the Natwest Series in 2002, former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag faced a notable incident with his then-coach John Wright. Known for his aggressive playing style, Sehwag was once punched by Wright for playing lofted shots. This occurred at a time when Sehwag was struggling with his form, having a series of low scores.
In one of the matches against Sri Lanka at the Oval, India was chasing a target of 203 runs after Sri Lanka managed to post 202 runs in their 50 overs, led by Mahela Jayawardene’s 62 runs.Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly, who was the captain at the time, opened the batting for India.
During the innings, Sehwag maintained his aggressive approach. According to Ganguly, “he kept hitting on the top and then smashed one straight down to mid off.”
Sachin Tendulkar’s crucial innings helped India achieve their target by the 45th over in the match. Sehwag and Ganguly both struggled with the bat, scoring only 12 and 7 runs, respectively.
At an event, Ganguly revealed the post-match atmosphere in the dressing room. He said, “When I returned to the dressing room (after winning the match) there was pin drop silence in the dressing room.”
Ganguly narrated, “I went up to Anil and asked, ‘What happened?’ Virender Sehwag had walked into the dressing room, and John Wright caught him by his collar, took him into the corner, and said, ‘You’re never going to play for India again because that shot could lose us the match.'”
“So, I went up to John and asked, ‘Did you actually punch Virender Sehwag?’ and he said, ‘Yes, I did.’ Then I asked, ‘Did he punch you back?’ and John replied, ‘No.'” the former Indian captain inquired.
“When everyone went down to the bus, Virender Sehwag was the last to come out. I told him, ‘Sit next to me. Is everything alright? Did John Wright punch you?'” asked Ganguly.
Sehwag said, ‘Yeah, skip (skipper) , don’t worry, it’s fine. It happens. I played a poor shot, and he got angry. He punched me, but we shook hands, and it’s all good.’ Ganguly added.
John Wright punched Sehwag! #virendrasehwag #souravganguly #indiancricketteam #cricketindia #cricket
Ganguly continued, “Later, I went straight to Sachin’s room and said, ‘You must have heard about the punching incident in the dressing room.’ He replied, ‘I saw it. I was in the corner, having a cup of tea when John caught him.'”
