India, Jan. 29 -- Virender Sehwag was far removed from diplomacy - some might say even tact. Sehwag was India's stand-in captain for the first of two Tests against Bangladesh in Chittagong in January 2010, and dismissed his opponents as an 'ordinary side' at the pre-match press conference.

"They can't beat India because they can't take 20 wickets," he threw in, for good measure, incensing the local media as much as the opposition players. India were true to their substitute skipper's words, cruising to a 113-run victory after declaring their second innings closed at eight wickets down, but Sehwag's inadvertent assertion had sowed the first seeds of needle.

That escalated five years later, at the 50-over World Cup. In the quarterfinals i...