“How can a gora hit me?”: Virender Sehwag opens up on his dressing room altercation with John Wright

Sehwag recalled the incident that took place in 2002.

Batting legend Virender Sehwag, who is known for his outspoken nature, has opened up on a rather unpleasant incident, involving him and former India head coach John Wright.

Sehwag recalled the incident that took place during a match between India and Sri Lanka in the iconic NatWest Series way back in 2002.

Apparently, Sehwag was advised by Wright to not play any rash shots during the chase of 203 but the swashbuckling opener ended up doing precisely that, getting out to Chaminda Vaas for 12.

“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 Amrit Mathur on Wednesday (August 2).

Wright’s act infuriated Sehwag so much that the latter threatened to fly back home. Rajeev Shukla, who was the Indian team manager back then, had to intervene 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 remarked.

Mathur, who documents his time as an administrator and the Indian team manager in the book, also revealed what happened after that 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.

(Firstpost Inputs)