Cricket World cup 2011 Indian team: Where are the winners now?

Lets start the list with the God of Criket himself. The 2011 World Cup was Sachin’s last one and he did go off in style! He bagged 482 runs in the tournament that was studded with two centuries. After his retirement in November 2013 in front of a packed Wankhede crowd, Sachin has gone on to don many roles.

Though he has left playing cricket, cricket has not left Sachin! Since retirement, he has found a way to keep himself as the icon of Mumbai Indians in the IPL. He went on co-own the Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters, a side that has the biggest fan following in the league. The Little Master also co-owns the Badminton side Bengaluru Raptors in the Premier Badminton League. Sachin also became a Member of Parliament (MP). Earlier in 2019, he the ex-cricketer opened a cricket academy in Mumbai named “Tendulkar Middlesex Global Academy”.

Virender Sehwag had strike rate of 122.58 in the tournament. But after the tournament, his form didn’t kept the same pace and finally he retired in 2015. He played first-class cricket and IPL for a couple of years before hanging up his boots. Currently, Viru delivers his ‘gyaan’ on various pre and post-match analytical shows. He is also an owner of Sehwag International School. He is an active social media user, and has become a cult figue there  for his witty posts.

‘Mahi abhi bhi maar raha hai’! Though his hair follicles have started growing, he is ageing with grace. His 2011 World Cup tournament was quiet but he roared with his 91 not-out in the final against Sri Lanka. Eight years later, despite many stints of bad patch, MS continues to be the ‘finisher of games’ for the Indian side.  In the span of eight years, he played a number of ODI games as well as captained Chennai Super Kings in IPL to successive titles. The aged lion may not be the same self but his roar can still make any bowler fear.

Apart from his cricket commitments, Mahi has also invested in business ventures including Seven and Rhiti Sports. He also co-owns ISL side Chennaiyin FC and Hockey Indian League Ranchi Rays.

Welcome the newly elected Member of Parliament from East Delhi. Gautam Gambhir played a very crucial knock in the final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. His innings of 97 helped India to lift the trophy. After winning the 2011 World Cup, the southpaw struggled to hold his form and went off the radar. He played domestic cricket. However, he announced his retirement ahead of his final match for team Delhi in the 2018 Ranji Trophy season. He currently is a Member of Parliament. Also, Gambhir does appear on some television channels as an analyst.

Without him India wouldn’t have won the 2011 World Cup. Did you knew, the Player of the Tournament was ill throughout the tournament? He still managed to play and played a match-winning innings against Australia in Quarter finals. After the World Cup, he was diagnosed with a cancer. He underwent a two-and-a-half month treatment for cancer in USA. The real warrior overcame the odds and returned to domestic cricket. Later, he was welcomed back in Indian team but he hardly scored runs with his bat. This year, the 37-year-old almost went unsold in the IPL auctions before Mumbai based club bought him towards the end.

If you ask who has evolved and become better in these eight years? Virat Kohli! The captain of Indian team Virat Kohli was 22 at that time of 2011 World Cup. Virat was the youngest member of the roaster. He amassed 282 runs in that tournament and scored a crucial 35 in the final against Lanka. However, a lot of water hass gone under the bridge in past eight years.

The Delhi southpaw has not only evolved as one of the fiercest batsman in the world but also emerged as an inspiring leader for Team India. What has been a trade-mark of Kohli’s captaincy is his away record. He has guided the Men in Blue to historical series victories away against the likes of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand. In fact, in late 2018, he also became the first Asian captain to ever register a test victory in Australia. India also reached the Champions Trophy finals under him.

The left-handed batsman from Uttar Pradesh played only the second half of the 2011 World Cup. He was a crucial member of Indian contingent. Raina did not contribute a lot towards India’s rise in entire tournament. Due to Dhoni’s game-winning knock, Suresh Raina not got a chance to bat in the final. He was integral part of 2015 World Cup too. But as they say, every athlete has a bad form in his career, Raina’s bad patch started after 2015. He made comebacks but he hardly impressed.  He donned the national jersey in ODI and T20I match in July 2018 against England. Raina is trying to make a comeback but it may be too late for the southpaw.

In the meantime, Suresh Raina and his wife Priyanka together launched a foundation to help underprivileged moms. The Gracia Raina foundation was named after his daughter. Coming back to field, Suresh Raina is still key player of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings. Do you know, Suresh Raina even sang a song Tu Mili Sab Mila for the movie Meeruthiya Gangsters?

Meet the highest wicket-taker from World Cup 2011 (joint with Shahid Afridi). Zaheer Khan bagged 21 wickets in the tournament. However, since that tournament injuries marred Zaheer’s career. He was constantly out of the team due to fitness and injury concerns. After retiring from international and domestic game in 2015, he entered the fitness industry with his venture ProSport Fitness. He played in the IPL for the last time in 2016.  He now has two fitness centres located in Mumbai and is looking to expand to other cities as well. Zak also has a couple of restos and a sports lounge in Pune. Zaheer Khan also is the bowling coach of Mumbai Indians.

Believe it or not, 2011 was the last time when Harbhajan Singh was India’s first choice spinner. And there was a reason for that. The Turbanator the second highest wicket taker for India in the 2011 Cricket World Cup. However, after the England (just after the World Cup), he suffered a number of injuries and he never came back with Ravi Ashwin becoming his successor.

Bhajji made a comeback in 2015 when R Ashwin was injured but couldn’t really make an impression. Hence, the offie wasn’t chosen for India. In 2015, he got married to Geeta Basra and was blessed with a girl in 2016.

After serving Mumbai Indian for 10 years in IPL, Singh switched sides with Chennai Super Kings in 2018. The switch seemed to work wonders for the spinner, who ended up scalping 16 wickets in IPL 2019. Those figures not only earned him a place in the Top 10 of the Purple cap list, but also helped CSK reach the IPL finals.

Do you remember this right-arm medium fast bowler who imitated bowling style of Glenn McGrath? His remarkable performance in the ODI series in Sri Lanka in 2010 led to a spot in the 2011 World Cup squad as Pravin Kumar was out due to injury. One can call him as an unsung hero.  Unfortunately for Patel, once the World Cup was over, his days in national jersey were numbered. He played his last ODI against England in September 2011, Patel plied his trade for IPL franchise Gujarat Lions in 2017.

Perhaps the most interesting life of from the batch of Cricket World cup 2011 Indian team is that of Sreeshant. One must accept though: Sreesanth was one of the most overrated and expensive bowler who gave plethora of runs after just two games. As soon as the World Cup party was over, the right-arm pacer went out of form.

This was less to him as another off-field ‘incident’ took place in his life. In 2013, he was caught in the disreputable spot-fixing scandal during IPL and was sentenced a lifetime ban from cricket. Due to his continuous plea, BCCI lifted the ban imposed on him in 2019. The Kerala southpaw has gone on to take up many roles. Sreesanth gained national attention after featuring in the television reality show Big Boss. He also went on to gain important roles in movies like Aksar 2 (2017), Team 5 (2017) and Cabret (2019).

Fast bowler has to face many injuries and Ashish Nehra wasn’t spared. The left-arm pacer missed number of matches in World Cup. He was back to T20 cricket and was pretty decent. He also played IPL stint with Chennai Super Kings. After retirement in 2017, he currently works as bowling coach with Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Piyush Chawla had a trifling role to play in India’s victory. He has not played a single match in blue jersey but remains a vital clog for IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders. Chawla has been a crucial part for them in every season.

Similar to like him, Yusuf Pathan’s stint in national side came to an end after the World Cup. His contribution was minimal in 2011 World Cup. He played IPL for Kolkata from 2011 before turning to Hyderabad in 2018.