‘Wanted To Quit ODIs After MS Dhoni Dropped Me But Sachin Tendulkar Changed My Mind’: Virender Sehwag Recalls 2008 Australia Tour

Near 7 years after his retirement from international cricket, Virender Sehwag is as yet viewed as one of the most dominating opening batters to have at any point played the game. Odds are high that it will continue as before for a long time to come.

Be that as it may, there was a point in Sehwag’s profession while the swank opener considered retiring from the game. In a new interaction, Sehwag said he thought of retiring from ODI cricket during the Australia visit in 2008 after then India skipper MS Dhoni had dropped him for a couple of games. 

The Question Of Retirement Came Into My Mind After Bad Form In 2008: Virender Sehwag

“In 2008 when we were in Australia, this question (of retirement) came to my mind. I made a comeback in the Test series, scored a 150. In the ODIs, I couldn’t score that much in three-four attempts.

So MS Dhoni dropped me from the playing XI then the thought of quitting ODI cricket came to my mind. I thought I will continue playing only Test cricket,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz show ‘Match Party.’ 

Sehwag who had made a thundering return a month prior in the Test side under Anil Kumble’s captaincy, played just 5 out of India’s 10 matches in the Commonwealth Bank tri-series highlighting Australia and Sri Lanka that followed it.  

The swashbuckling right-hander was dropped from the playing XI in the wake of scoring 6, 33, 11, and 14 in India’s initial four matches in the tri-series.

In the wake of being avoided in the XI for the two matches in Adelaide, Sehwag was by and by carried once more into the XI in the following league match against Australia in Sydney yet another disappointment (14) from the right-hander implied he was kicked out once more. 

India proceeded to accomplish a memorable success by beating Australia 2-0 in the best of three finals of that CB series however Sehwag had no impact after that match on February 24. 

Sachin Tendulkar Stopped Me From Taking Retirement: Virender Sehwag

Sehwag likewise uncovered that it was Sachin Tendulkar who prevented him from declaring his retirement from the ODI format during that Australia visit. 

“Sachin Tendulkar stopped me at that time. He said ‘this is a bad phase of your life. Just wait, go back home after this tour, think hard and then decide what to do next’. Luckily I didn’t announce my retirement at that time,” he said. 

Sehwag proceeded to play for another 7-8 years for India in every one of the three formats of the game and, surprisingly, won the ODI World Cup in 2011.

I Am Different From Virat Kohli: Virender Sehwag

The former right-hander shared this story when he was gotten some information about whether Virat Kohli will be considering having some time off from cricket because of his unfortunate run with the bat. 

“There are two types of players – Those who like challenges, they have fun in such situations and Virat is one of those. He listens to all the criticism, reacts on the field by scoring runs to prove them wrong.

The other type are the ones who are unaffected by all the noise because at the end of the day they know what they need to do. I was that kind of player. I didn’t care who criticised me. I wanted to play, score runs and go home,” Sehwag added. 

Also Read: I See No Reason Why Jos Buttler Needs To Retire From Test Cricket, Says Rob Key