"I was almost 90 percent sure of quitting cricket" - When a 45-minute phone call with Viv Richards made Sachin Tendulkar change his mind in 2007

India's batting stalwart Sachin Tendulkar revealed that a 45-minute call with West Indian great Viv Richards changed his mind regarding retirement back in 2007. Nicknamed the Master Blaster, Tendulkar went on to play for India until 2013, when he hung up his boots after playing his 200th career Test match.

Since this morning (May 10), there have been reports stating that Virat Kohli has informed the BCCI about announcing his retirement from Test cricket.

The 36-year-old, one of the senior players in the side, could be the second player after Rohit Sharma this week to have announced his departure from the longest format of the game.

Incidentally, Sachin Tendulkar also found himself at a similar point back in time, when he announced his departure from the game after a forgettable 2007 ICC Men's ODI World Cup in the West Indies.

However, speaking to India Today at an event back in 2019, the 52-year-old mentioned that a 45-minute call with Vivian Richard helped him change his mind and reverse his decision. He said:

"I felt that was it. At that stage 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 a World Cup final in Mumbai, can you imagine holding that beautiful trophy in your hand?"

"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.

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Sachin Tendulkar would go on to play for six years after 2007 and win the Men's Cricket World Cup

Sachin Tendulkar posing with the trophy after winning the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup - Source: Getty

Following the heartbreak of the 2007 ODI World Cup, Tendulkar would go on to play for another six years before retiring from the sport in 2007. He came close to winning the Men's ODI World Cup with India earlier in 2003 but the Men in Blue succumbed to a heavy loss against Ricky Ponting-led Australia and had their dreams of lifting the World Cup for the second time shattered.

However, Tendulkar would go on to lift the trophy that eluded him for some time in 2011, winning it with India after a wait of 28 years, with the final being played at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. In terms of batting, Tendulkar had a total tally of 34357 runs in his international career, the most for any batter.

The Master Blaster would also go on script a unique feat, scoring a century of centuries in his cricket career. He registered 51 tons in Test cricket, the most for any batter, and scored 49 ODI hundreds, only bettered by Virat Kohli, who has 51 centuries in the 50-over format.