Former India opener Virender Sehwag claimed that he considered retiring from ODI cricket in 2007-08 only as well. He also recalled that he thought of retiring from the format after being dropped from the team during the tri-nation series against Australia and Sri Lanka down under as well.

Sehwag also said that he spoke to Sachin Tendulkar about retiring from 50-over cricket. However, he urged Sehwag to give it some time and not make a decision based on emotion as well. Meanwhile, his decision not to retire from ODIs
eventually paid off as he played and won the 2011 World Cup at home.

Sehwag told the sports commentator Padamjeet Sehrawat on his YouTube channel: “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.”

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“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 stated.

However, Virender Sehwag’s son Aryaveer was selected in Delhi’s Under-16 side for the Vijay Merchant Trophy in December 2023 as well. Speaking about his son’s future, Sehwag said that he had asked his son not to take the pressure of being Virender Sehwag’s son as well.

“Aryaveer will surely have the pressure on him, but I have been teaching him from when he was young that your father’s name would be told to you all the time. That you are Virender Sehwag’s son, that you play like he did, that you don’t play like he did. That pressure will always be on you, but you should not take that pressure. 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,” Virender Sehwag concluded.