Former Indian cricket team opener Virender Sehwag has made a startling revelation about his career — he once seriously considered retiring from ODI cricket years before the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. The reason was his prolonged exclusion from the playing XI under then-captain MS Dhoni. However, it was the timely advice of legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar that convinced Sehwag to stay and fight for his spot.
Dropped During the 2007-08 Commonwealth Bank Series
The incident took place during the 2007-08 Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia, a tri-nation tournament featuring the India cricket team, Australia, and Sri Lanka. Sehwag played the first five matches but struggled badly for runs, managing only 81 runs at an average of 16.20, with a highest score of 33.
His poor form led to MS Dhoni dropping him from the last three league matches. India went on to win the tri-series, with Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar leading the batting charge. This left Virender Sehwag questioning his role in the ODI side and whether he should continue in the format.
“𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 2007-08 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑨𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒂, 𝑰 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑴𝑺 𝑫𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒊 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕. 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑿𝑰, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑶𝑫𝑰 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕?” 𝑺𝒆𝒉𝒘𝒂𝒈 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝑷𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒋𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝑺𝒆𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝑻𝒖𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒍.
Sachin Tendulkar’s Advice That Changed Everything
Faced with the thought of quitting, Sehwag approached Sachin Tendulkar, who shared his own story of facing a similar slump in 1999-2000.
“𝑺𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒆, ‘𝑰 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅. 𝑫𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍. 𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 1-2 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍,” 𝑺𝒆𝒉𝒘𝒂𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅.
Following Tendulkar’s advice, Virender Sehwag decided to continue. Later that year, he found form in the Kitply Cup, scoring 150 runs in three matches. His resurgence continued, and he went on to become one of India’s most destructive openers in the 2011 World Cup, helping the team lift the trophy.
Virender Sehwag: From Near Retirement to World Cup Glory
Sehwag eventually retired from international cricket in 2015, leaving behind an exceptional ODI record — 8,273 runs in 251 matches, including 15 centuries and a then-world record individual score of 219.
From being dropped by MS Dhoni to becoming a World Cup-winning opener, Virender Sehwag’s journey is a testament to resilience, self-belief, and the importance of experienced mentorship in cricket.
Also Read: Former Pakistan Cricketer Calls for Boycott of Match Against India
