It's been 11 years since he retired from international cricket, but Virender Sehwag is still fondly remembered as one of India’s and the world's most destructive batters. Sehwag's 'see ball, hit ball' philosophy became an instant rage, and he went on to become arguably India's greatest Test opener after the great Sunil Gavaskar. In 2004, he became the first Indian to score a triple century in Tests – a feat held in high regard even today, let alone 20 years back – and pummeled another against South Africa four years later in Chennai. Sehwag may look back at his career thinking he missed out on completing 10,000 runs in Tests, but what he achieved and did for Indian cricket transcends beyond numbers and records.
However, the second half of 2005 brought about an interesting challenge for the Indian team, Sehwag included, and it went by the name of Greg Chappell. Chappell's arrival after the departure of John Wright was expected to be a watershed moment in Indian cricket, one that could change the landscape of Team India. And it did, but not in a good way, as several cricketers had a fallout with the former Australia captain. Sourav Ganguly was dropped as captain and subsequently from the team. Sachin Tendulkar was approached to become the captain just six months before the 2007 World Cup. Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman were doubted, and even Sehwag wasn't spared.
When Greg Chappell's words hurt Virender Sehwag
"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.
{{/usCountry}}"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.
{{/usCountry}}"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 didn’t name which particular match this was, all indications point towards the 2006 Test between India and the West Indies at Gros Islet. Sehwag's 180, along with centuries from Dravid (140) and Mohammad Kaif (148 not out), powered India to 588/8 declared. The match, however, ended in a draw. Sehwag finished with 8586 runs from 104 Tests for India.