Sehwag is widely regarded as one of India’s most destructive openers.
Sehwag may have failed to complete 10,000 runs in the two formats, but what he achieved for Indian cricket transcends beyond numbers and records.
Sehwag’s illustrious career posed an interesting challenge for the Indian team during Greg Chappell’s coaching stint. Several Indian cricketers of that era had a fallout with the Australian legend.
Sourav Ganguly was sacked as captain and subsequently dropped from the team. Sachin Tendulkar was made to bat at No. 4 during the 2007 World Cup. Sehwag wasn't spared as well.
"Greg Chappell’s words hurt me. There was a time when I wasn't scoring runs, and he told me, 'if you don’t move your feet, you won’t score runs at the international level. I replied back saying, 'Greg, I have scored 6000 runs in Test cricket at an average of more than 50'. He said it doesn’t matter and again told me if I don’t move my feet, I won’t score runs. We had a big argument. Rahul Dravid, who was the captain then, had to separate us. The next day, when I was going to bat, he said, 'Make sure you score runs; otherwise, I will drop you.' I was like, 'Do whatever you want'. Imagine a batter is going to bat, and that's the kind of thing he hears from the coach," Sehwag said on The Life Saver podcast.
He added, "When I took strike, I started smashing the ball and reached 99 runs before lunch. When I was entering the dressing room, Dravid was standing there. I told him, 'Tell you coach not to come near me.' I had my lunch, and after returning, I continued batting. I was out close to tea after scoring 184. Then I looked at him [Chappell] standing in a corner and told him, 'Doesn’t matter if I move my feet or not, I know how to score runs.'"
While Sehwag refrained from specifying the particular match, all indications point towards the 2006 Test between India and the West Indies at Gros Islet. Sehwag's 180, along with hundreds from Dravid (140) and Mohammad Kaif (148 not out), propelled India to 588/8 (declared). The game, however, ended in a draw.