Former India opener Virender Sehwag is known for his aggressive batting, but very few people know that there was a time when he thought of retiring from ODI cricket. This phase came in 2007-08, when a tri-series was going on between India, Australia, and Sri Lanka.
MS Dhoni was the captain of the team at that time. Sehwag got a chance in the first three matches, but after that he was dropped from the playing XI. This decision shook him to the core, and he started feeling that perhaps he no longer had a place in ODI cricket.
In an interview he said,
"In the 2007-08 series when we were in Australia, I played the first three matches of the Commonwealth Bank Series, 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 is no point in my playing ODI cricket."
At this time he talked to Sachin Tendulkar, who is considered the God of Cricket. Sehwag clearly told him that he was thinking of saying goodbye to ODI cricket.
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 in the 2011 World Cup, and we won the World Cup as well."
This advice from Sachin inspired Sehwag to stop and try again. He did not give up and returned in great form after some time. Later on, he also became an important part of the 2011 World Cup team, which India won.
If we talk about his career, Sehwag played his first ODI against Pakistan in 1999 and made his Test debut against South Africa in 2001. He has scored two triple centuries in Test cricket, which is a unique record for any Indian batsman to date.
In ODI cricket, he played a huge innings of 219 runs, which came against the West Indies in 2011.
In Test cricket, he scored a total of 8586 runs in 104 matches, which includes 23 centuries and 32 half-centuries. His average was 49.34. In 2010, he was awarded 'Test Player of the Year' by ICC, when he scored 1282 runs in 10 Test matches.
In ODIs, Sehwag scored 8273 runs in 251 matches, and his strike rate was above 104. He also scored 15 centuries and 38 half-centuries.
He was part of the winning teams of both the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup. His journey shows that no matter how many ups and downs there are in a career, if you have confidence and get the right advice, then a comeback is possible.