Sehwag: 'Wanted to retire after Dhoni dropped me before Tendulkar changed my mind'

When it comes to former Indian opener Virender Sehwag, he remains the deadliest opener for Team India to date, known for his aggressive nature of batting. However, he was going through a challenging phase in 2008 when during the tour of Australia, then-skipper MS Dhoni had decided to drop him from the squad. As a result, it made Sehwag wonder and want to quit One-Day Internationals (ODIs). However, legendary Indian Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar made him change his mind and continued, allowing him to come back stronger, as he eventually helped India win the ICC World Cup 2022.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Sehwag noted, "In 2008, when we were touring Australia, this question [of retiring] struck my mind. I did make a comeback in the Test series and played an innings of 150. But, in the ODIs, I couldn't score much in three-four attempts. So, I was dropped from the playing XI by MS Dhoni. Then, the view of quitting ODIs came to my mind. I believed I would continue to play just Test cricket."

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"However, Sachin Tendulkar stopped me at that time. He said, 'it is a bad phase of your life. Stay put, go back to your home following this tour, think hard, and then decide what to do next'. Luckily, I hadn't announced my retirement at that time." Three years later, Sehwag played an instrumental role for Team India as it lifted the 2011 CWC.

On the other hand, Dhoni is going through a similar rough phase. Although he has retired from international cricket, he continues to lead four-time former Indian Premier League (IPL) champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK). However, in IPL 2022, he could hardly fare with the bat, while the side finished at the ninth spot, which is its worst finish to date.