Sachin Tendulkar: The 10th anniversary started on a bit of a sour note for Indian fans as he had to be hospitalised as a precautionary mesaure after testing positive for COVID-19 last week, but Tendulkar did not forget to wish his erstwhile teammates on the memorable day on twitter. It took the 'God of cricket' five World Cups and a journey of 22 years to finally lay his hands on the 50-overs World Cup. Tendulkar continued to play for more than two years after that, eventually retiring from international cricket with a memorable send-off in November, 2013. The 'Little Master' has continued to remain a private person that he was, apart from playing the mentor's role for the IPL team Mumbai Indians and making the odd guest appearances with a bat in hand.
Image Credit: AFP
2 of 15
Mahendra Singh Dhoni: It was Captain Cool's last-ball six in the final which helped India regain cricket's biggest prize after a gap of 28 years at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Dhoni had earlier lifted the first-ever T20 World Cup in 2007 in South Africa with a ragtag team and followed up the 2011 success with the ICC Champions Trophy - making him the only captain to boast of all three major ICC trophies. He called time on his international career in August, 2020, but continues to lead Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.
Image Credit: AFP
3 of 15
Virat Kohli: It had been a fairytale journey for Kohli since 2011 during which he has established himself as the most influential cricketer of this generation. While he has established himself as the heir apparent to Tendulkar's throne, Kohli is yet to tick a few boxes as captain though - be it for the Indian team or his IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is yet to win a major ICC championship, having lost in the semi-finals of the last World Cup in England, World T20 while his Men in Blue also lost the 2017 Champions Trophy final to Pakistan. He is yet to land a single IPL for RCB, despite being one of the most prolific scorers in the tournament's history.
Image Credit: AP
4 of 15
Yuvraj Singh: The Player of the Series in the tournament (362 runs), Yuvraj had life throwing a gauntlet at him when soon after the World Cup, he was diagnosed with a rare germ cell cancer and had to undergo a prolonged treatment in the US. In what could be termed as the mother of all comebacks in the sport, 'Yuvi' played in the T20 World Cup the very next year as well as domestic cricket with fierce commitment. However, he started to be in and out of the team thereafter - though the crowdpuller was a quite a big draw among the IPL franchises. His last IPL season with Mumbai Indians was bit of a letdown as he mostly warmed the benches and eventually called it a day in mid 2019.
Image Credit: AP
5 of 15
Gautam Gambhir: A gritty southpaw, Gambhir played a crucial role behind India's triumph in 2011 as his innings of 97 laid the foundation for the hosts' successful chase against Sri Lanka in the final. However, he was sidelined from the Indian team thereafter but continued to play domestic cricket and led a turnaround in the fortunes of Kolkata Knight Riders by winning two IPL trophies with them. He was called up to the Test squad for the last time in 2016 but failed to impress the selectors since then. Gambhir finally bid adieu to the game in late 2018 and took a plunge in politics, where he is now a Member of Parliament for Bharatiya Janata Party from New Delhi.
Image Credit: AP
6 of 15
Virender Sehwag: One of India's leading matchwinners at the start of the new millennium, the swashbuckling opener's stay in the Indian team didn't last long post the World Cup with the rise of new talents like Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. After announcing his retirement on his 37th birthday, Sehwag has donned multiple hats being part of commentary teams, serving as a cricket expert for various media outlets besides serving as the mentor of Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings)in the IPL.
Image Credit: AFP
7 of 15
Zaheer Khan: Hailed as one of the most crafty left-arm pacers in the game after Wasim Akram, 'Zaks' ended the World Cup as the joint highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 21 scalps. However, he was laid low by a hamstring injury that forced him out of the side and seemed to have lost some of his venom on his return to the international stage. In the IPL, he continued to out-think batsmen with his guile while leading the Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) during the 2016-17 editions. Having hung up his boots altogether as a player, Zaheer is now the Director of Cricket Operations of Mumbai Indians.
Image Credit: AFP
8 of 15
Harbhajan Singh: 'Bhajji' proved to be a handful on the slow surfaces of India during the tournament with his variation and experience. Expected to lead the spin attack after Anil Kumble's retirement, he however lost his edge by having fewer wickets to show for with each passing game. The simultaneous rise of Ashwin didn't help Singh's case either - who continued to be overlooked but seemed to be content with producing impressive IPL performances. He has four IPL winners' medals to show for Mumbai and has been roped in by Kolkata Knight Riders for this season at 40 years.
Image Credit: Reuters
9 of 15
Ravi Ashwin: He came into the mix with on the back of a good showing in the IPL for Chennai Super Kings, but Ashwin only played a couple of matches during the tournament. A thinking cricketer, Ashwin soon rose as India's No.1 spinner across formats and ruled for a number of years till he was jettisoned from Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri's plans in the white ball game after a poor outing in the 2017 Champions Trophy. Since then, though Ashwin continues to be a regular feature in the Test format and had an outstanding season in 2020-21 against Australia and then England. He captained Kings XI Punjab in the IPL for a season before being traded to Delhi Capitals, where he has proved his worth so far.
Image Credit: PTI
10 of 15
Suresh Raina: The spunky left-hander's weakness against the short ball meant that he wasn't going to be a consistent feature in the Indian side for long even though he kept piling up the runs consistently for Chennai in the IPL. Though he has had his chances a few times - as late as July 2018 in England - his exploits in the domestic scene and IPL often failed to match his international runs. A recent knee surgery in 2019 put a question mark over his fitness and Raina finally losed in the footsteps of his favourite captain 'MSD' - retiring from international cricket the same day. A IPL giant with more than 5000 runs in the league, Raina will be seen in CSK's yellow shirt this year in a week's time.
Image Credit: AFP
11 of 15
Yousuf Pathan: Pathan's international career nosedived soon after the World Cup as sporadic performances with the bat, while not being the most agile in the field, failed to earn him a regular place in the side. Even at the IPL where he has been a constant at KKR for seven years before moving to Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018, Pathan has not lived up to his billing of being one of the fiercest strikers of the cricket ball. The elder of the Pathan brothers eventually retired from all forms of the game early this year.
Image Credit: PTI
12 of 15
S. Sreesanth: The 2011 World Cup final turned out to be last ODI for Indian cricket's prodigal son as he was one of three IPL players banned for life in the spot-fixing scandal in 2013. The eventual lifting of his ban by the Supreme Court in March 2019 didn't help the 38-year-old's cause, who by now had desperately tried his hands at acting, dancing and even reality TV shows. However, it's to Sreesanth's credit that he hasn't lost his hunger for the game and had produced decent performances since returning to the Kerala state team.
Image Credit: PTI
13 of 15
Ashis Nehra: The wiry left-arm pacer who knows to swing the ball has had his moments, but life as an injury-prone fast bowler proved too tough to handle for Nehra. The Delhi pacer surprisingly returned to the T20I side on the back of some impressive performances in the IPL for CSK, going on to help India win their first limited-overs trophy Down Under. After quitting the game, Nehra currently works as a bowling coach with Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Image Credit: AP
14 of 15
Munaf Patel: One of the unsung heroes of India's triumph in 2011, Munaf Patel soon fell out of favour of the selectors, having last played for India in an ODI against England in September 2011. He did continue playing domestic cricket and the IPL till 2017 before announcing his retirement in November 2018. It was, however, a pleasure to see him back in action for India Legends in the Road Safety Series in Raipur, Madhya Pradesh, earlier this month.
Image Credit: AFP
15 of 15
Piyush Chawla: The leg spinner, who incidentally had been a part of two World Cup winning outfits under Dhoni, did not play a single ODI for India since the 2011 World Cup. Chawla, however, kept himself relevant in the IPL where he is one of the all-time leading wicket-takers. In conjunction with Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav, Chawla had formed an intimidating spin trio at Kolkata Knight Riders before moving to CSK last year. However, after an indifferent season, the ageing spinner was released by CSK before he was picked up by Mumbai Indians for the 2021 season.
Image Credit: PTI
This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to improve your experience and provide more personalized service to you.
Both on your website and other media. To find out more about the cookies and data we use, please check out our Privacy Policy.
