Throwback: When Sachin Tendulkar REVEALED how Viv Richards reversed his early retirement plans

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Image Credit : Twitter

A call from Viv Richards

The legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar’s name has been synonymous with excellence, longevity and passion in cricket. Tendulkar is one of the greatest batters to have ever graced the game of cricket. Making his international debut for Team India in a Test match against Pakistan in 1989, the Mumbai-born cricketer went on to become all-time great with several records under his belt.

Tendulkar amassed 34,357 runs and 100 centuries in international cricket before retiring from his illustrious career after playing 200th and last Test in front of his home crowd at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in 2013. However, there was a time when the batting legend wanted to retire from his career after India were out of the ODI World Cup in 2007. Then came former West Indies batting legend Viv Richards who changed Tendulkar’s mind and continued to play for another six years.

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2007 ODI World Cup heartbreak

Team India was one of the strong favourites to win the ODI World Cup in 2007, given the star- studded players, including Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Anil Kumble, and MS Dhoni. However, the Men in Blue suffered a shock exit from the group stage after their defeats to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, receiving widespread criticism and backlash in India. Tendulkar had a disappointing campaign in his fifth World Cup appearance, scoring just 64 runs, including a fifty, at an average of 32 in three fifties.

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Contemplated retirement post 2007 World Cup

After the 2007 ODI World Cup heartbreak, Tendulkar was planning to retire from international career. Speaking at the India Today’s event ‘Salaam India Cricket’ in 2019, the former right-handed batter revealed that he was 90% sure of retiring from cricket until his elder Ajit Tendulkar encouraged to continue.

"I felt that was it. At that stage, a lot of things happening around Indian cricket were not at all healthy. We needed some changes and I felt if those changes did not happen then I was going to quit cricket.” Tendulkar said.

“I was almost 90 percent sure of quitting cricket. But my brother told me in 2011 there is a World Cup final in Mumbai, can you imagine holding that beautiful trophy in your hand?" he added.

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Image Credit : Twitter/Sachin Tendulkar

45-minute call with Viv Richards

Tendulkar further revealed that he received a call from former West Indies captain Viv Richards, whom he considered as a hero during early years of his cricketing career. The batting legend stated that he had a conversation of 45 minutes with Richards, that helped him to change his mind about his retirement.

“After that I went away to my farmhouse and that is when I got a call from Sir Viv, saying I know there is plenty of cricket left in you.” Ex-India batter said.

“We had a conversation for about 45 minutes and that was so heartwarming because when your batting hero calls you it means a lot. That was the moment things changed for me and from that moment onwards I also performed much much better," he added

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Tendulkar’s World Cup dream fulfilled

A call from Viv Richards, combined with encouragement from his brother Ajit, Sachin Tendulkar reignited his passion for cricket and continued to play for India for next six years. Tendulkar not only regained his consistency in Tests and ODIs, but fulfilled his long-cherished dream of winning the ODI World Cup. His dream came true when Team India defeated Sri Lanka in the 2011 ODI World Cup to clinch the title for the first time in 28 years. It was extra special as the Men in Blue won the World Cup on home, with the final taking place at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium - Sachin’s home ground. With the ODI World Cup triumph, Tendulkar’s journey in the prestigious tournament came to a fruitful end.