Virender Sehwag Reveals How MS Dhoni Dropped Him and Sachin Tendulkar Saved His ODI Career

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Cric News India

August 15, 2025 0 184

Virender Sehwag revealed that he almost retired from ODIs before the 2011 World Cup after being dropped by MS Dhoni, but Sachin Tendulkar convinced him to continue.

Virender Sehwag once came close to retiring from ODI cricket before the 2011 World Cup after being sidelined by then-captain MS Dhoni. The turning point came during the 2007-08 Commonwealth Bank Series, where Sehwag scored only 81 runs in five matches, averaging 16.20, with a top score of 33.

Dropped for the remaining three games, he watched India win the finals against Sri Lanka and Australia. Six months later, he returned in the Kitply Cup, scoring 150 runs in three matches, including two fifties.

Now, Sehwag has revealed that the advice from Sachin Tendulkar convinced him to continue, eventually leading to his participation in the 2011 World Cup, which India won. Sehwag ended his ODI career with 8,273 runs in 251 matches.

“In the 2007-08 series in Australia, I played the first three (five) 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,” Sehwag said in an interview with Padamjeet Sehrawat on YouTube.

“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,” he added.

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Virender Sehwag then shared an update on his 15-year-old son Aryavir, who is making steady progress in Delhi cricket.

“Pressure is something that you give, not take. I have told him he can play the way he wants if he is interested and if he wants to become a cricketer. Things are going well for now. Hope he goes on to play either for India or the Ranji Trophy. He’s working hard. He’s only 15 and he’ll learn a lot in future,” he concluded.