Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly Wednesday denied that he had wanted then coach John Wright to apologise to Virender Sehwag for having grabbed the dashing batsman by the scruff of his collar during an ODI match in England in 2002.
"I was not even present when the incident took place. I later came to know of the incident from Harbhajan Singh in the team bus. So I was surprised by Mr. Shukla's comments," Ganguly told a news channel.
At the India Today Salaam Sachin Conclave Tuesday, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice president Rajeev Shukla had narrated an incident that happened during the match at the Oval during Ganguly's tenure as captain.
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"An irate Wright had once grabbed Sehwag by the scruff of his collar after Viru got out and came back to the pavilion. Sehwag and Ganguly made it clear that the team will not leave the dressing room unless Wright apologises.
"That's when Sachin (Tendulkar) stepped in and took me (Shukla) aside, making it clear that no way Wright should be forced to apologise in front of the whole team as it would demean his authority," Shukla said.
Ganguly said: "There was no question of me insisting on John's apology as I was not even present then. It is a very old incident. I don't think there was any need for him to narrate it."
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