The 2011 World Cup, which was co-hosted by India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, was one of the most memorable ICC tournaments for the memories it gave to the fans. The biggest of them all remains MS Dhoni’s World Cup-winning six, and the team lifting Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders.
There were also some of the greats of the game who featured in the 2011 World Cup, many of them for the last time in an ODI WC.
Few of the captains from the 2011 World Cup teams went on to hold coaching roles for either national teams, or in franchise leagues.
Here are 3 players who were captains in the 2011 World Cup, and have now turned into coaches:
Kumar Sangakkara- Rajasthan Royals
The legendary Sri Lankan batsman and captain Kumar Sangakkara is one of the greatest ever to have graced the game. Sangakkara is the second-highest international run-scorer with 28016 runs in a career that spanned for 16 years. He notched up 63 hundreds for Sri Lanka.
Kumar Sangakkara brilliantly captained Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup. In the group stage of the 2011 WC, Sri Lanka won 4 matches and lost just one. They defeated England by 10 wickets in the quarter-final, defeated New Zealand by 5 wickets in the semi-final, but lost at the last hurdle against India in the final.
In 2021, Kumar Sangakkara was appointed as the Director of Cricket of the Rajasthan Royals franchise in th IPL, the role he still holds in 2023.
Daniel Vettori- Sunrisers Hyderabad
Former New Zealand captain and one of the finest spinners of all-time, Daniel Vettori, captained the Black Caps in the 2011 World Cup. New Zealand won 4 league matches and lost 2. They then defeated South Africa in the quarter-final before losing the semi-final to Sri Lanka.
Vettori also featured in the 2015 ODI World Cup, where New Zealand reached the final and lost it to Australia. That final turned out to be his last international match, and he retired with 705 wickets.
Vettori picked up coaching roles soon after retirement. He also served as the head coach of his previous IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) from 2014 to 2018. In 2022, he became the head coach of the Birmingham Phoenix men’s team in The Hundred.
Vettori was recently appointed the head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad and will take charge from IPL 2024. He replaced Brian Lara. He is also currently working as the assistant coach with the Australia men’s team for their World Cup 2023 campaign in India.
Ricky Ponting- Delhi Capitals
Ricky Ponting is a three-time ODI WC winner and a two-time WC winning captain. However, Australia’s domination in World Cups under Ponting came to an end in the 2011 World Cup, when India defeated Ponting’s side in the quarter-final.
Ponting retired from international cricket in 2012 and is the third-highest run-scorer with 27483 runs. He then played in IPL 2013 for Mumbai Indians and won his maiden IPL title. He then went on to coach the Mumbai Indians from 2014 to 2016 – winning the title in 2015. Ponting was then appointed the head coach of Delhi Capitals in 2018, and continues to hold that post.
