2011 World Cup: On this date, 2nd April, 11 years ago, MS Dhoni marched India to their second ODI World Cup title, ending the wait of 28 years after Kapil’s Dev side won India’s maiden title in 1983 at the Lord’s defeating West Indies. Dhoni’s team, too, clinched their trophy at a special venue, Wankhede Stadium, defeating a strong Sri Lankan outfit in the final.
Having made his debut in 1989, ‘God of Cricket’ Sachin Tendulkar’s dream of 22 years finally came to fruition, after being crushed twice – in 1996 and 2003 – in the knockout stages.
After that, while some of the cricketers from that title-winning campaign rose in their careers, most dwindled away.
Here’s India’s 2011 World Cup final playing XI and what are they doing now:
Virender Sehwag
While Virender Sehwag got out for a duck in the final, he gave India rollicking starts in almost every other game. Sehwag played his last game for India in 2013 before being dropped for dismal form. He continued to play in the IPL and domestic cricket till 2016 before calling time. After which, he took upon commentary and is a frequent social media user where he continues to entertain the fans.
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar took about another year to go from 99 international centuries to 100 and retired from ODI cricket; a year after that in 2013, he retired from Test cricket, bringing curtains to arguably the greatest cricketing career.
He also made short stints in the commentary box, played charity matches, recently was seen in the Legends tournament. He has been actively using his social media influence to spread social awareness of various issues helping humanity in different ways.
Gautam Gambhir
The highest scorer for India in the final, Gautam Gambhir, who scored 97 that night, was in and out of the team a little while after the WC final before being dropped from white-ball teams in 2013 and his last Test came in 2016. In the meantime, though, he led KKR to two IPL titles.
He retired in 2018, and has been a regular presence in the commentary box since. Recently, Gambhir was appointed as mentor for the new Lucknow Super Giants franchise in the IPL 2022.
Virat Kohli
The youngster who scored a crucial 35 in the final, Virat Kohli’s career attained incredible levels after the World Cup; he was named the cricket of the decade by the ICC and was arguably the best all-format batsman of the last decade. He’s currently India’s third-highest run-scorer across formats and until late last year was India’s all-format skipper.
MS Dhoni
Despite having a below-par tournament, MS Dhoni showed immense self-confidence and promoted himself to number 4, ahead of the in-form Yuvraj Singh, on the night of the final and “finished off in style” with a six. He continued to lead India for three more years in Tests and until early 2017 in white-ball cricket, before retiring altogether in 2020.
He’s continued to play for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL but recently stepped down as CSK’s skipper just ahead of IPL 2022.
Yuvraj Singh
Man of the tournament of the 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj Singh took 15 wickets and scored 362 runs in the competition. The southpaw then won the battle of life against cancer and made a stunning return.
He was part of the side till 2017 and played his last IPL game in 2019. After international retirement, he took part in the T10 league and also helped India win the in Legends tournament.
Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina played two really crucial innings in that World Cup – against Australia in the quarter-final and Pakistan in the semi-final – making up for a significant contributor in India’s title triumph.
Raina was an integral part of India’s white-ball teams till 2016 before his from dropped and was eventually dropped for the last time in 2018; he played his last IPL game last year and now has taken up commentary for IPL 2022.
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh, who took 9 wickets in 9 games at the World Cup, also suffered a downwind in his India career after the 2011 World Cup and played his last international in 2016 as R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja shot in the ranks. He, too, is now a common voice in the commentary box. Also, he has been nominated to Rajya Sabha by the Aam Aadmi Party.
Zaheer Khan
With 21 wickets, Zaheer Khan was the joint-highest wicket-taker of the tournament. The left-arm pacer set the tone in the final for India with a terrific new ball spell of 5-3-6-1. However, Zaheer’s fitness couldn’t keep him for a long time after that on the field, his last game for India coming in 2014.
He played in the IPL till 2017 after which he took up the role of Director of Cricket at Mumbai Indians. He is also a regular analyst during the international season on Cricbuzz at the moment.
Munaf Patel
Munaf Patel took 11 wickets in 8 matches in the World Cup and was an unsung hero of the victory. Munaf also sustained a series of injuries after the tournament and didn’t play any international after 2011 and featured in the IPL till 2017. He is currently the bowling coach at Baroda Cricket Association (BCA).
S Sreesanth
Sreesanth didn’t play any international after 2011, but things got worse – he suffered the worst of fate among these players, when he was roped in the match-fixing scandal during IPL 2013, which saw him get a life ban.
Upon being cleared of the charges by the court his life ban was reduced to 7 years and he made a return for Kerala in domestic cricket last year. Earlier this year, Sreesanth announced his retirement from all forms of Indian cricket. And while his future plans could range anywhere from coaching to stints in movies, Television drama, politics, he could also turn up in overseas leagues now that he’s retired from Indian cricket.
