How Viv Richards’ phone call stopped Sachin Tendulkar from retiring in 2007 after World Cup debacle?

India had endured one of the World Cup campaigns in 2007, the edition which was played in West Indies. They had lost to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the group stages and failed to make it to the next stage. It was also one of the worst phases of the Indian cricket as the senior players were not pleased with the head coach Greg Chappell. During the same time, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar pondered over retiring from the game. But the man has revealed now how Vivian Richards’ phone call changed his mind.

The master blaster batted out of his usual position in that tournament in the middle-order and struggled completely to make an impact. Tendulkar only managed to muster 64 runs out of which 57 runs had come against the minnows Bermuda. He scored only seven runs against Bangladesh and then bagged a duck in the Sri Lanka game. He was extremely disappointed much like the other cricketers.

Sachin Tendulkar has previously stated how his elder brother Ajit Tendulkar encouraged him to not quit cricket during that period. But for the first time, the former India cricketer has opened up about the Windies’ batting maestro Richards’ role in it.

The conversation was so heartwarming

Sachin Tendulkar, while speaking at an event organised by India Today, recalled his conversation with Viv Richards and how the legendary cricketer convinced him to not quit and keep on playing the game. “After that (speaking to Ajit) 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,” Tendulkar said.

Speaking about the ongoing World Cup though Sachin Tendulkar picked England, India and Australia as the sure-shot semi-finalists.