Virinda Sehwag heard of India axe in newspapers

Virender Sehwag has revealed that he learned of his dropping from India's Test side in 2013 through newspapers rather than team officials.

Explosive opener Sehwag - who retired from international duty earlier this year - went a long way to shaping the modern game in a Test career spanning 12 years, amassing 8,586 runs, leaving him fifth in India's all-time scoring charts.

However, after averaging just nine in the first two Tests against Australia in 2013, Sehwag was axed for the remainder of the series - something he claims was done without notice from the management.

"I hadn't scored runs in two Tests against Australia," Sehwag told ESPNcricinfo.

"So, I was thinking I would get a couple of more opportunities to perform well in the last two Tests [of the series] and then get dropped if I didn't perform.

"Nobody called me - not from the team management, not from the selectors - so I got the news from the newspapers, and it hurt at the time.

"When I got dropped, I was thinking that I'm a good player and can get back into the Indian team, but I was still living in the mindset that I am an aggressive opener and can score runs.

"I did not realise that domestic cricket is totally different to international cricket and I was still playing in the same way. I did not score runs that [2013-14] season and my highest was 50-odd [56] and I was struggling to cope up with [conditions in] Delhi.

"I then changed my thinking next year and batting style by giving myself a little more time and I scored 500 plus runs, but I needed to score that in the previous season and maybe I would have gotten back into the team. It was too late, but I was playing because I wanted to play the game."