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With the Indian cricket currently at a halt now, former India cricketer Virender Sehwag dropped a shocking revelation from his playing days. The former India opener, who is considered to be one of the greatest of the ODI format, scored 8273 runs at an average of 35.05 and a strike rate of 104.33 in the format.
The 46-year-old, who had an underwhelming run in the 2007-08 ODI tri-series in Australia, revealed how he thought of retiring from the format. It is to be noted that during the tri-series, Sehwag scored just 81 runs in five matches at an average of 16.20. As a result he was dropped from the Indian lineup by the then captain MS Dhoni.
If I can't be a part of the XI, then there was no point in my playing ODI: Sehwag
Recently, during a conversation with Padamjeet Sehrawat, the former India cricketer dropped a shocking revelation how he thought of retiring from the format after not finding a place in the playing XI. "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.
The 46-year-old further went on to reveal that he approached Sachin Tendulkar to speak about the same and the former Indian cricketer forced him to reverse his call. "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 added.
Notably, Sehwag played a pivotal role in the 2011 World Cup, which India went on to win. Later on, in October 2015, Virender Sehwag finally put down curtains on his international cricketing career.
