“Wanted to retire from ODIs after MS Dhoni dropped me,” Virender Sehwag drops a bomb recalling his tough phase in 2008

Virender Sehwag, a man who is considered one of the most explosive openers ever to grace the game of cricket, has opened up about his struggles during the lean phase of his career in 2008. The right-handed opener is arguably the most impactful test player India have ever had. But he has had a successful ODI career as well. However, the destructive opener has now opened up about a time when he struggled mentally and thought of quitting the game.

Virender Sehwag has revealed that when he was struggling with the form in the ODIs in 2008 and was subsequently dropped from the team under the leadership of MS Dhoni, he wanted to retire from the format. However, the legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar advised him against it.

“Sachin Tendulkar stopped me from announcing my retirement,”  says Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag revealed on a Cricbuzz show ‘Match Party, “In 2008 when we were in Australia, this question (of retirement) came to my mind. I made a comeback in the Test series and 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.”

“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,” further added Virender Sehwag.

For the unversed, India played a tri-series on the Australian soil, involving the host and Sri Lanka. The right-handed opener was going through a lean patch with the bat at the time and was getting in and out of the ODI team.

However, Virender Sehwag went on to represent India in ODIs till 2013 before announcing his retirement. He also was a major part of India’s ODI World Cup triumph in 2011.