Just Virender Sehwag Things: Sourav Ganguly Celebrated Shirtless To Get "Undergarments Endorsement Deal"
On July 13, 2002, Indian cricket got one of its everlasting images when then India captain Sourav Ganguly celebrated shirtless from the balcony of the hallowed Lord's dressing room
On July 13, 2002, Indian cricket got one of its everlasting images when then India captain Sourav Ganguly celebrated shirtless from the balcony of the hallowed Lord's dressing room after the 'Men in Blue' came from the brink of defeat to beat England and lift the NatWest Trophy. Ganguly was obviously incensed about the way England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff had taken off his shirt during a match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai during an earlier tour and was waiting to return the compliment.
However, India, chasing a massive 325-run target, were down to 146/5 at one stage. A fantastic 121-run sixth-wicket stand between Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif brought India into the game and then Kaif got some crucial help from Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan to ensure that India emerged improbable winners by two wickets and Ganguly got his moment.
July 13, 2002 - #TeamIndia won the NatWest series final #ThisDayThatYear @MohammadKaif @ImZaheer @YUVSTRONG12 @SGanguly99 pic.twitter.com/jKeFXEmCgk
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 13, 2017
Virender Sehwag played in that match. He had an hilarious explanation on that incident. Speaking during the launch of former BCCI General Manager Amrit Mathur's book: "Pitchside: My life in Indian cricket," Sehwag joked: "Dada celebrated without his shirt because he wanted an endorsement deal from an undergarments brand."
"He wanted to give a befitting reply to Flintoff who did the same in Mumbai," Sehwag added.
He also recounted another incident involving Ganguly. "After a bad start to the 2003 World Cup our coach John Wright  asked who should open. We all got together and wrote our suggestions. Out of the 11 chits only one had 'Saurav-Sachin' written on it. Only Saurav Ganguly only wrote his name on his chit. Everyone else wrote mine and Sachin's name. Since then Sachin and I started opening and Dada very graciously came in at no.3," he said.
Virender Sehwag
India Cricket Team
England Cricket Team