Former India opener Virender Sehwag talked about how he nearly had to quit when MS Dhoni dropped him during the 2008 tri-series in Australia. With 8273 runs at an average of 35.05 and a strike-rate of 104.33, Sehwag is regarded as one of the best ODI players of all time.
However, Sehwag’s performance during the 2007–08 series was lackluster. He only managed to score 81 runs at an average of 16.20 in five games, which prompted Dhoni to bench him. Sehwag expressed his belief that he should withdraw from ODIs if he was not going to be a member of the team in an interview with Padamjeet Sehrawat.
“In the 2007-08 series against Australia, I played the first three 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,” said Sehwag.
Then, according to Sehwag, he went to speak with Sachin Tendulkar, who told him right away not to retire. Having gone through a similar phase in 1999-2000, Tendulkar assured Sehwag that the tough period would pass in due time.
Tendulkar encouraged Sehwag to wait for a few more series before making an emotional decision.
“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,” said Sehwag.
The former opener was instrumental in India’s 2011 World Cup triumph and brought the curtain down on his cricket career in October 2015.
