Sachin Tendulkar reveals how Viv Richards helped him overturn retirement decision in 2007

After the poor outing at the 2007 World Cup held in West Indies, Sachin Tendulkar went on to become the first cricketer to notch-up a double century in limited-overs cricket.

Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday revealed apart from his brother’s advice, West Indies great Vivian Richards also helped him to reconsider his decision on retirement from the sport. After a poor outing during the World Cup back in 2007, the batting maestro faced a lot of criticism. The Indian unit had then crashed out of the tournament without even making it to the knock-out phase and Tendulkar, himself had only managed to fetch 64 runs in the three matches India played in the competition.

Tendulkar opened about the phase in India Today’s event ‘Salaam Cricket 2019’ and said he was determined about quitting the sport. However, his brother and the former Windies cricketer played a major role in overturning his decision.

“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. I was almost 90 percent sure of quitting cricket. But my brother told me in 2011 there is World Cup final in Mumbai, can you imagine holding that beautiful trophy in your hand?” Tendulkar said during the event.

“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. 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.

However, after the poor outing at the 2007 World Cup held in West Indies, Tendulkar went on to become the first cricketer to notch-up a double century in limited-overs cricket. The southpaw also had a splendid campaign in the following World Cup held in India, which was also his last. He went on to lift the trophy at his home ground, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and also emerged as the leading run-scorer from the Indian unit with 482 runs in nine matches.

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