2017 ICC Champions Trophy: Watch – Sourav Ganguly Challenges Virender Sehwag For A 100m Sprint
Nov 2, 2023 at 3:47 PM
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly and his protégé Virender Sehwag were at their witty best on Sunday during the India – Pakistan clash at the Edgbaston, Birmingham. The two legends of Indian cricket shared the Hindi commentary box and had a blast making fun of each other.
Sehwag is pretty well known for his sarcastic nature and doesn’t think twice before taking a funny jibe at his contemporaries. Shoaib Akhtar, Sehwag’s former rival and now friend, can explain it much better than anyone else or maybe Piers Morgan, the popular English journalist, can give a few tips for handling Sehwag verbal shots.
Sehwag always looks for a banter. So, when Sourav Ganguly boasted about his running between the wickets, Viru Paaji could not hold himself back from making the fact clear.
The funny banter happened in the commentary box where the duo were discussing the need for singles and doubles to keep the scoreboard moving. While explaining the concept, Ganguly went on to describe how he used to quickly run between the wickets and rotate the strike.
Sehwag, who spent almost 7-8 years with Ganguly in the India dressing room, quickly intervened and refused to accept the fact. Dada being Dada did not buy Sehwag’s argument and to prove his point declared that the two should compete in a 100-meter sprint race. Ganguly asserted that could beat him easily in the sprint and prove that he was quick.
Ganguly pointed out that Sehwag had single’s percentage of 24% while Dada had 36%, tipping the scales to Dada’s side. An anguished Sourav Ganguly then stated, “Aap apnay statistics theek karain or Commentary Box mai aisi Kharab baatain na karain or interviews ma bhi (Please correct you statistics and speak sense both in the commentary box and in interviews.).”
Ganguly added, “Tere liye do physio bhi denge.(I will give two extra physio to you for the race).”
Sehwag, too, seemed ready and quickly came up with confirmation of the impromptu event from the broadcaster Star Sports. He stated that the race would be covered for the television viewers.
Now, whether the two will really come out with their sprinting shoes on to compete remains unconfirmed. As of now, the verbal banter remains a fun exchange of words. But, fans will surely enjoy the two veterans come out and race for real.
The environment in the commentary box was vibrant yesterday. Apart from Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag, the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Ranveer Singh also graced the much talked about game. There were a lot of memories re-visited in the backdrop of the one-sided fixture which India won comfortably by 124 runs to give a jubilant start to their title defence in the Champions Trophy.
Here is the video of the epic challenge
https://youtu.be/AlDoIe5rgMI