Virender Sehwag recalls fight with Greg Chappell that fired him up to score Test ton in WI

Former India batsman Virender Sehwag was one of the most destructive batsmen the world had ever seen. Virender Sehwag was nowhere near playing conventional cricket and was completely unorthodox in his batting. However, his unique style of batting didn't stop him from weaving magic on the field.

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No matter the format, Virender Sehwag's only rule was to see the ball and hit the ball. The former India opener changed the way Test cricket was played with his explosive batting. Virender Sehwag revealed an incident with Greg Chappell which riled him up to score a century.

Virender Sehwag reveals how his fight with Greg Chappell riled him up to score a ton

While speaking on a talk show What The Duck, Virender Sehwag narrated an incident from the 2006 tour of the West Indies. Virender Sehwag lauded Greg Chappell's cricketing knowledge but said that when it came to man-management, he was a total flop. Virender Sehwag added that a coach should realize which players are performing the best for him and how they do so naturally. Sehwag opined that that a coach should give the players his space and time in international cricket since at the highest level, a player doesn't need a coach but a friend who manages them properly. 

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Virender Sehwag said that Greg Chappell was hellbent in improving his footwork, a facet of batting which Sehwag was never renowned for. Sehwag narrated an incident from a St. Lucia training session where Greg Chappell asked him to practise by stretching his leg, which will be useful for him. Sehwag further said that he tried doing that but wasn't really confident doing it and told Chappell about the same.

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Sehwag told Chappell he isn't used to stretching that much, he never does in the match as well, so this training wasn't worth it. This infuriated Chappell and he insisted Sehwag to do it, which led to an argument.  Rahul Dravid, who was then the skipper of the team, had to intervene as he asked Sehwag to do it because the coach was saying so. Sehwag agreed and tried the drill after which Greg Chappell warned Sehwag that if he does not obey his advice, he won't be able to score runs. Sehwag replied almost in disdain that if he doesn't score runs, he can drop him.

The next day Sehwag batted and scored 99 before lunch on Day 1. He came back to the dressing room and told Greg Chappell that it doesn't matter if his feet move or not, at the end of the day he will score runs. Greg Chappell didn't know what to say as he stood in silence and the matter was dissolved right there with the 'Nawab of Najafgarh' have the last laugh.

Virender Sehwag was in the group of players such as Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and VVS Laxman, who do not have much of praise reserved for Greg Chappell and his tenure as India's coach from 2005-2007. As far as Sehwag's records are concerned, under Chappell, that St.Lucia ton against the West Indies in 2006, was one of the two centuries he scored during his tenure as coach in 33 innings. It doesn't come as a surprise that Sehwag averaged just 33.71 during that period with 944 runs, as his other century was the 254 he scored against Pakistan in Lahore. The batsman's overall career average in Test cricket is 49.34.

Here is the innings from Sehwag in St.Lucia in 2006 - 

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IMAGE COURTESY: VIRENDER SEHWAG INSTAGRAM

VIDEO CREDIT: CRICKET KING ZOHAIB/YOUTUBE