Legendary Indian opener Virender Sehwag has revealed a stunning fact about his career: he genuinely pondered quitting from One-Day Internationals even before the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. The reason for his early retirement was a protracted absence from the playing XI under then-captain MS Dhoni.
However, Virender Sehwag stated that guidance from his close friend and batting partner, Sachin Tendulkar, transformed his career.
The incident occurred during the 2007-08 Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia, a tri-nation event that included India, Australia, and Sri Lanka. Sehwag played the first five full matches of the series but battled for form, hitting only 81 runs at an average of 16.20, with a high of 33.
Dhoni benched him for the final three league games due to his poor form. India went on to win the tri-series, with Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar topping the batting charts. Following the historic win, Sehwag’s position in the team and future in the format were called into question.
“In the 2007-08 series in Australia, I played the first three (five) matches and then MS Dhoni dropped me from the side. I wasn’t picked for a while after that. Then I felt that if I can’t be a part of the playing XI, then there was no point in my playing ODI cricket. Then I went to Tendulkar and said, ‘I am thinking of retiring from ODIs’. He said, ‘No, I went through a similar phase in 1999-2000, where I felt I should leave cricket. But that phase came and went.
So, you are going through a trough, but it will pass. Don’t make any decision when you are emotional. Give yourself some time and 1-2 series, and then take a call.’ When that series ended, I played in the next series and made a lot of runs. I played the 2011 World Cup and we won the World Cup as well,” Sehwag said on Padamjeet Sehrawat’s YouTube channel.
After hearing this advice, Virender Sehwag got back his form in the Kitply Cup later that year by scoring 150 runs in three matches, and went on a consistent run that eventually saw him open for India in the 2011 World Cup, which the Men in Blue won. Sehwag eventually retired in 2015 with an illustrious ODI record. In 251 matches, he hammered 8,273 runs, scoring 15 centuries, and a highest score of 219, then the highest individual score in ODIs.
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