When Sourav Ganguly revealed how John Wright held Virender Sehwag by the collar and punched him during 2002 NatWest Trophy
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, during an event for the CIO Association of India in 2015, revealed how ex-coach John Wright held batter Virender Sehwag by the collar and punched him. The incident took place during India's match against Sri Lanka in the 2022 NatWest Trophy series.
The game was played at The Oval on June 30, 2002. Sourav Ganguly recalled the incident involving coach John Wright and Sehwag.
"I remember Virender Sehwag in Edgbaston (The Oval) and we were chasing a very small total against Sri Lanka. About 209 or 10 to win that game on a seaming pitch. I was standing up and watching Virender Sehwag bat and he kept hitting over the top and then he smashed one straight down to mid-off," he said (via DailyDoseCricket Instagram).
While Sehwag got out early in what turned out to be a tricky chase, India managed to win the game in the end. Sourav Ganguly recalled that when he went to the dressing room to congratulate everyone, there was pin-drop silence and that was when he figured out something had happened.
"I went back to the dressing room and I went around the dressing room congratulating everyone. And there was an absolute pin drop silence in the dressing room. So I went up to Anil (Kumble) and said, what's happening? He took me out and said, John Wright has punched Virender Sehwag," he stated.
Sourav Ganguly recalls how he was in disbelief and what happened after Wright Punched Sehwag
Sourav Ganguly then went on to narrate how he expressed his disbelief and his conversations with John Wright and Sehwag after the match.
"Punched mean what? Are you joking? Are you serious? He (Kumble) said, no. When Virender Sehwag walked into the dressing room, John Wright caught him by his collar and took him into the corner of the wall and said, you're never going to play for India again because that shot would lose the cricket match for us. So I went up to John and asked, did you actually punch Virender Sehwag? He said, yes, I did. And then I asked him, did he punch you back? And he said, no," the former Indian skipper recollected.
He added:
"And as everyone went down the bus, Virender Sehwag was the last man to come out. And I told him, sit next to me. Did John Wright punch you? He said, yeah skip don't worry, it's fine. It happens. I played a shit shot. He was angry. He punched me. We shook hands and it was fine."
Sourav Ganguly also mentioned how he went to Sachin Tendulkar's room after they reached the team hotel and asked him about the incident.
"And I came back to the hotel and I went straight to Sachin's room and said, you must have heard about the punching story in the dressing room. He said, yeah, I saw it. I was in one corner having a cup of tea when John caught him by the collar."
India were chasing a target of 203 runs in that match and were reduced to 195/6 at one stage. However, Mohammad Kaif and Ajit Agarkar eventually helped them cross the line, with India winning by four wickets.