Legendary Indian opener Virender Sehwag recently made a shocking revelation about his career, that he once seriously considered retiring from ODIs well
before the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. The reason for the early retirement was a prolonged exclusion from the playing XI under then-captain MS Dhoni. However, Sehwag pointed out that advice from his close friend and batting partner, Sachin Tendulkar, changed his career.
The episode dates back to the 2007-08 Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia, a tri-nation tournament involving India, Australia, and Sri Lanka. Sehwag played the first five completed matches of the series but struggled for form, scoring just 81 runs at an average of 16.20, with a highest score of 33.
His lean patch led to Dhoni dropping him from the last three league games. India went on to win the tri-series, with Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar leading the batting charts. Following the historic win, Sehwag's place in the team and future in the format were in 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, 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.
