‘How can a gora hit me?’ - Virender Sehwag recalls altercation with former India coach John Wright

Former cricketer Virender Sehwag revealed a shocking incident about the time when former India head coach John Wright got involved in a physical altercation with the opener. Notably, Wright was appointed as the head coach during a turbulent period, when India’s name was heavily involved in match-fixing. Recalling his relationship with his former coach, Sehwag revealed that entire incident and how it eventually got solved.

Interestingly, during a match against England in 2004, the flamboyant batter got out rather cheaply and that’s when Wright lost his calm. He charged towards Sehwag and pulled him by his collar and that’s when the batter became furious. He went on to complain about the same to the then-manager Rajiv Shukla, who along with Amrit Mathur solved the issue between the coach and the player.

“I was pushed around by John Wright in the 2004 England tour. He pulled me by my collar after I got out cheaply. I was very angry and said to (the then manager) Rajiv Shukla, How can a gora hit me. Later Amrit Mathur and Rajiv Shukla got me and Wright to patch up,” Virender Sehwag was quoted as saying by NDTV during the launch of former BCCI General Manager Amrit Mathur's book: ‘Pitchside: My life in Indian cricket’.

Meanwhile, the one-off incident didn’t hamper the relationship between Sehwag and Wright. They shared a great camaraderie post that incident and Sehwag later mentioned the beautiful bonding that the duo shared later on.

On the other hand, the cricketer himself went to become one of the greatest openers of team India. Sehwag went on to represent the national team in 104 Tests, 251 ODIs, and 19 T20Is, scoring 8586, 8273 and 394 runs, respectively. The cricketer also played a vital role in India winning the 2011 ODI World Cup. Interestingly, the 44-year-old was part of the squad that lost to Australia in the finals of the World Cup in 2003 during Wright’s reign and had to wait for eight long years to finally win the gold.