Early November, Sehwag had been on cloud nine, having scored a century on his Test debut against South Africa at Bloemfontein. He had been feted at home and abroad by fellow cricketers and the media. Now, caught albeit inadvertently in the middle of a row between egotistic administrators which was threatening to get out of hand, Sehwag was desperately trying to shun the limelight. Earlier, he had been in tears—as a team member confided—when he was prevented from turning out during the third "unofficial Test" between South Africa and India. He had even turned out for practice on the eve of the Test at Centurion, walking briskly up to the middle, lifting the covers and taking a look at the wicket. He had prayed that some last-minute compromise would be worked out between the warring camps. But when he realised he would be serving the ban, Sehwag glumly sat out the match in his hotel room. He also called up home twice and spoke to his mother and brother. "He sounded disappointed. He didn’t sound nervous, though. When he called up the second time just before the third Test, my mother spoke to him at length. After that he seemed quite cheerful. He told me that the atmosphere in the dressing room was quite friendly," says brother Vinod Sehwag.