Untold Stories: When Greg Chappell and Virender Sehwag Had an Altercation on the Field

His methods and approach left many players unhappy, and his tenure was filled with conflicts and misunderstandings. Among the many incidents, one particular clash with Virender Sehwag became unforgettable. What began as criticism of Sehwag’s batting turned into a heated argument, showing how strained the relationship was between the coach and his players. Let’s see how the complete saga unfolded between both of them.

What Happened Between Sehwag and Chappell?

Being the man who changed the perception of Indian opening batting with his fearless style, Virender Sehwag never held back when it came to speaking his mind. Known for his simple approach of “see ball, hit ball,” Sehwag entertained cricket lovers across the world with his aggressive batting and became one of India’s greatest Test openers after Sunil Gavaskar. He was the first Indian to score a triple century in Tests in 2004, and he repeated the feat in 2008 against South Africa.

Although he retired just short of 10,000 Test runs, finishing with 8586 from 104 matches, his influence on Indian cricket went far beyond statistics. Yet, his career was not free of challenges, especially during the controversial Greg Chappell era. After John Wright stepped down as India’s coach in 2005, Chappell was appointed to bring in a new direction. Instead, his time brought conflicts and unrest in the team. Senior players like Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, and VVS Laxman found themselves at odds with him, and even stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar were unsettled by his ideas.

Question – Have you ever been hurt by someone's words?

Virender Sehwag – "Yes, Greg Chappell’s words once hurt me. I was going through a little rough patch. He said to me, ‘If you don’t move your feet, you won’t score runs.’ I replied, ‘Greg, I’ve scored over 6000 runs with an… pic.twitter.com/L2WyNgbVRY

— Tanuj (@ImTanujSingh) August 23, 2025

Sehwag too had his share of issues with the Australian coach, one of which turned into a heated dressing-room incident. Recalling the confrontation on The Life Saver podcast, Sehwag said that Chappell questioned his technique at a time when he was going through a lean patch. Chappell told him bluntly that if he did not move his feet, he would not succeed at the international level. Sehwag, never one to shy away, reminded the coach that he had already scored more than 6000 Test runs at an average above 50. But Chappell dismissed it, repeating his criticism. Regarding this, Sehwag gave a statement as:

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.

The argument escalated so much that Rahul Dravid, who was India’s captain then, had to intervene and calm things down. The next day, as Sehwag was preparing to go out and bat, Chappell issued another warning. He told Sehwag that unless he scored runs, he would be dropped from the side. Sehwag, unfazed, shot back saying Chappell could do whatever he wanted. This exchange could easily have unsettled a batter, but Sehwag carried his natural confidence to the crease. He began attacking the bowling from the start, scoring freely and racing to 99 before lunch. When he returned to the dressing room during the break, Sehwag passed a sharp remark to his captain. He told Dravid to make sure “his coach” did not come near him.

Virender Sehwag opens up about his verbal clash with Greg Chappell that hurt him during his career. 🏏

📸: BCCI#oneturfnews #teamindia #virendersehwag #gregchappell #cricket pic.twitter.com/QYeF1PH3OH

— OneTurf News (@oneturf_news) August 23, 2025

That summed up how tense the situation had become between the opener and Chappell. After lunch, Sehwag continued his innings in the same aggressive manner and eventually scored 184 before getting out close to tea. Looking back at the moment, he recalled how he saw Chappell standing silently in a corner. Sehwag walked up to him and remarked that it did not matter whether he moved his feet or not, he knew how to score runs. While Sehwag did not mention the exact match, his words and the numbers point towards India’s 2006 Test against the West Indies at Gros Islet. He finally concluded with:

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 your 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”.

In that game, Sehwag’s 180, along with Rahul Dravid’s 140 and Mohammad Kaif’s unbeaten 148, took India to a massive total of 588 for 8 declared. Despite such dominant batting, the match ended in a draw. But for Sehwag personally, it was a strong statement against his coach’s criticism and this episode remains one of the most vivid examples of the clashes between Indian players and Greg Chappell during his troubled tenure as coach. For Sehwag, it was more than just about proving a point as it showed his fearless character, both on and off the field. Even under pressure and amid disputes, he stayed true to his natural game, and once again displayed why he was regarded as one of the most destructive openers in cricket history.