Sehwag confirms retirement from international cricket and IPL on 37th birthday

“I hereby retire from all forms of international cricket and from the Indian Premier League. A statement will follow,” the dashing batsman tweeted.

On Monday, Sehwag had told the gathering at the unveiling of the veterans’ league: “If I am not retired I will not play. I will go back to India and announce my retirement.” The MCL is scheduled to be held in February, which anyway allowed the former dashing opener to complete the current Ranji Trophy season with Haryana before joining the league for retired cricketers.

Two leading Indian dailies carried contradictory reports on Tuesday, before Sehwag’s formal announcement quashed all confusion.

Last week, Zaheer Khan called time on his career, and with Sehwag joining him, it is possibly the start of another generation of Indian legends bidding adieu to the international game.

“To paraphrase Mark Twain, the report of my retirement yesterday was exaggerated! However, I have always done what I felt was right and not what conformists thought to be right…. And I had decided some time back that I will retire on my 37th birthday. So today, while I spend my day with my family, I hereby announce my retirement from all forms of international cricket and from the Indian Premier League,” Sehwag said in a statement.

In his prime, Sehwag was arguably the most destructive batsman in world cricket, and a key member of the Mahendra Dhoni-led side that climbed to the No 1 ranking in Tests. He was a member of two World Cup-winning teams – the 2007 World T20 in South Africa, and the 2011 ODI World Cup in the sub-continent.

“Playing for India was a memorable journey and I tried to make it more memorable for my teammates and the Indian cricket fans. I believe that I was reasonably successful in doing so. For that, I wish to thank all my teammates over the years – some of the greatest players of the game,” Sehwag added.

“I would like to thank all my captains who believed in me and backed me to the hilt. I also thank our greatest partner, the Indian cricket fan, for all the love, support and memories. I have also played against a lot of great players and it was an absolute pleasure and honour to do so.”

Sehwag is India’s only Test triple centurion, and one among only a handful of global batsmen to have scored two Test triple centuries and four other double centuries. He came close to recording a third triple ton when he scored 293 against Sri Lanka in Mumbai in 2009.

The Delhi batsman is also one of only five international batsmen to have scored a double century in One-Day Internationals.

In a Test career spanning a dozen years, Sehwag, who cracked a century on debut, played in 104 matches and scored 8,586 runs at an impressive average of 49.34, with 23 centuries and 32 fifties. Fourteen of his hundreds were scores of over 150.

The ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’, as he was fondly referred to for his easy, and, at times, nonchalant batting style, Sehwag also scored 8,273 runs at an average of 35.05 with 15 hundreds and 38 fifties in 251 ODIs, spanning 14 years. Sehwag also recorded 394 runs with two fifties in 19 Twenty20 Internationals.

“I miss my father today, he was there when the journey started and I wish he could have been there today as well but I know I made him proud and wherever he is today, he is watching me with pride." 

“I want to thank my coach, Mr AN Sharma sir, who was possibly the only coach who could have groomed me into the player that I became. I would probably have struggled to play for my school under any other coach. My mother, my wife Aarti and my children Aaryavir and Vedant are my biggest strength and their presence in my life keeps my mind without fear and head held high.”