Flashback to turmoil: When Sourav Ganguly watched coach John Wright confront Virender Sehwag

Legendary former India Captain Sourav Ganguly once revealed at an event for the CIO Association of India in 2015, how the then-head coach, John Wright, had held Virender Sehwag by his collar and punched him after the Nawab of Najafgarh was dismissed playing an aggressive shot in a 2002 NatWest Trophy clash against Sri Lanka. This encounter was played at The Oval on June 30.

India were chasing a 203-run target on a tricky surface. After hitting a couple of boundaries, Sehwag wanted to keep the pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers by batting with intent. However, in search of quick runs, the right-handed batter gave his wicket away. India eventually managed to win the match in the 46th over after losing six wickets.

Ganguly recalled the gloomy atmosphere in the dressing room after India had bagged full points from the low-scoring encounter. Anil Kumble informed him about what had transpired between Sehwag and Wright after the flamboyant batter was dismissed.

"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," Ganguly said (via DailyDoseCricket Instagram).

"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. 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," he added.

Sourav Ganguly further recalled that he had gone to Wright and Sehwag to get more details about the incident. The New Zealander admitted that he had punched the opening batter. 

"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 Kolkata Knight Riders skipper recollected.

Ganguly got worried about Sehwag post-Wright confrontation

Meanwhile, Virender Sehwag wasn't too perturbed with what had happened. According to Sourav Ganguly, the Delhi batter understood that he had played a rash shot and threw his wicket away. But this confrontation did not escalate ahead nor did it affect the coach-player relationship.

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"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 s**t shot. He was angry. He punched me. We shook hands and it was fine," the Prince of Bengal stated.

Sehwag didn't let this incident deter his spirits as he went on to become one of India's greatest openers of all time. He finished with over 17,000 international runs and a commendable Test average of 49.34.