10 years of India's historic 2011 World Cup win: What are the players of that team doing now

Written By DNA Web Team | Updated: Apr 02, 2021, 04:20 PM IST

10 years of India's historic 2011 World Cup win: What are the players of that team doing now

From the 15 member squad, 11 have retired from international cricket - only Virat Kohli and R Ashwin are playing competitive cricket.

From MS Dhoni hitting that winning six to Sachin Tendulkar being carried on the shoulders by his teammates at the Wankhede Stadium, from Gautam Gambhir hitting a match-winning 97 to Zaheer Khan bowling a spell-binding opening spell ti also Yuvraj Singh and his captain's celebration - nothing can defeat the happiness the Indian cricket fans felt after the Men in Blue lifted the 2011 World Cup trophy on April 2.

India had ended a 28-year-long wait and under MS Dhoni's captaincy, the side defeated Sri Lanka to win the 50-over World Cup. Dhoni became only the 2nd India captain after Kapil Dev to lift the World Cup in this format. India had also become the first team to win a World Cup at home. 

So on the 10th anniversary of India's glorious triumph, a look at what the Indian men are doing in 2021. While 11 of the 15 members have retired from international cricket - only Virat Kohli and R Ashwin are playing competitive cricket at the international level.

India's 2011 World Cup squad: 

MS Dhoni (Captain), Virender Sehwag (Vice-captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Virat Kohli, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sreesanth, Yusuf Pathan.

MS Dhoni: The wicketkeeper-batsman retired from international cricket on August 15, 2019. However, Dhoni has been playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and leading the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Dhoni will be seen back in action in the upcoming edition of IPL, starting April 9. 

After the 2011 World Cup, Dhoni played 164 matches and led India at the 2015 World Cup as well.

Virat Kohli: Virat Kohli won the World Cup in his maiden appearance. Since the retirement of Dhoni, Kohli has taken over the team and is India's captain across all 3 formats. Known as the 'Run Machine', Kohli also captains Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (RCB).

After the 2011 World Cup, Kohli has played 200 ODIs and he led India in the 2017 Champions Trophy. In the 2019 World Cup, India had reached the semi-finals and lost. Kohli will next lead India in the World Test Championship final and the T20 World Cup later this year.

Virender Sehwag: Virender Sehwag retired from international cricket in 2015 and also played in the IPL till then. Post his retirement, the former India opener runs his own school in Haryana. He was recently part of the Road Safety World Series in Raipur which was won by India Legends Team led by Sachin Tendulkar.

After the 2011 World Cup, Sehwag played his last ODI in 2013. He played just 15 matches scoring 513 runs and a hundred in the said period.

Sachin Tendulkar: Sachin Tendulkar retired from international cricket in November 2013. The batting legend served as a Member of Parliament between 2012 and 2018. Tendulkar has been the mentor and icon of 5-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians (MI). He recently played the Road Safety World Series where he led India Legends to the title. 

After the 2011 World Cup, Tendulkar played only 10 ODIs and brought up his 100th hundred in this format at the Asia Cup in 2012.

Yuvraj Singh: Yuvraj Singh had been the biggest match-winner for India. However, 7 months after the World Cup triumph, he was said to be suffering from a tumour in his lung. In early 2012, it was confirmed that the tumour was cancerous - mediastinal seminoma.

Yuvraj had been battling with the tumour even during the World Cup. However, Yuvraj fought back and recovered after undergoing treatment in the United States in 2012. He announced his retirement in 2019 but he decided to return to competitive cricket in 2020. He too was part of the Road Safety World Series.

After the 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj played 30 ODIs and was part of the 2012 T20 World Cup, 2014 T20 World Cup and the 2017 Champions Trophy.

Gautam Gambhir: Gautam Gambhir, who is currently serving as a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and won from the East Delhi constituency in 2019. Gambhir is active with commentary duties as well. He also runs the Gautam Gambhir Foundation aimed at helping the needy. 

Gambhir retired from international cricket in December 2018 and the batsman played the IPL till then. He led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in two triumphant campaigns- 2014 and 2018 - before returning to Delhi Capitals (DC) which was his final season in the IPL.

After the 2011 World Cup, Gambhir played 33 ODIs for India and he last played an ODI in 2013.

Zaheer Khan: Zaheer Khan is currently the mentor of Mumbai Indians (MI) for the last 3 years. The bowler joined MI as the Director of Cricket in 2018 and has been associated with the 5-time champions ever since. Apart from this, Zaheer Khan has been an active commentator and analyst in Hindi and English. 

Zaheer had announced his retirement from international and domestic cricket in 2015 but continued playing in the IPL. He captained and mentored Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2017 before bidding goodbye to the T20 tournament.

After the 2011 World Cup, Zaheer played only 9 ODIs and his last 50-over international game was in 2012.

Harbhajan Singh: Harbhajan Singh is an active cricketer despite having last played for India in 2016. He is currently part of the KKR troop for IPL 2021. Apart from playing cricket, Harbhajan has been keeping himself busy with broadcast gigs and is even part of a movie named 'Friendship'.

After the 2011 World Cup, Harbhajan played only 10 ODIs and was part of the T20I side until 2016 and Test and ODI sides until 2015.

Ashish Nehra: Ashish Nehra is an active commentator and expert and predominantly does Hindi commentary. The former India pacer retired from all forms of cricket in 2017 and played the IPL until then. He later worked as an assistant coach for RCB.

After the 2011 World Cup, Ashish Nehra did not feature for India in ODI cricket, however, he played T20I cricket for India until 2017.

S Sreesanth: Sreesanth returned to competitive cricket earlier this year and represented Kerala in domestic white-ball tournaments. His alleged involvement in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal had forced him away from competitive cricket for close to 7 years. The BCCI had banned Sreesanth for life in August 2013, but after long legal battles, the BCCI reduced his life ban to seven years. 

After the 2011 World Cup, Sreesanth did not play a single ODI, however, now having returned to competitive cricket, he hopes to make an India comeback. 

Suresh Raina: Suresh Raina is all set for the IPL and will play for CSK. He had pulled out of IPL 2020 due to personal reasons. The batsman had been training in Uttar Pradesh in the lead up to the tournament and had played the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament earlier this year.

Raina had retired from international cricket, hours after Dhoni announced his retirement. Raina and his wife Priyanka also run the Gracia Raina Foundation that focuses on creating awareness about maternal health and adolescent health in India.

After the 2011 World Cup, Raina played 111 ODIs and was part of India's limited-overs set-up until 2018. Raina was also part of the Champions Trophy-winning Indian side in 2013.

R Ashwin: R Ashwin, much like Kohli, had won the World Cup on his maiden appearance. The off-spinner has not played limited-overs cricket since 2017 but is considered one of the greatest spinners of this era - especially when it comes to Test.

Ashwin is currently in Mumbai for IPL 2021. He represents the Delhi Capitals franchise. He had led Punjab Kings after he made the move to the Punjab-based franchise from CSK.

After the 2011 World Cup, Ashwin played 102 ODIs and was part of the Champions Trophy-winning side in 2013. Ashwin was India's lead spinner at the 2015 World Cup and the 2017 Champions Trophy.

Munaf Patel: Munaf Patel had retired from international cricket in 2018 and has been keeping himself busy, playing franchise-based T20 competitions. He represented Kandy Tuskers in the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League in 2020.

Patel was also part of the India Legends team of the Road Safety World Series. He last played the IPL in 2017 and domestic cricket in 2016.

After the 2011 World Cup, Munaf played only 8 ODIs but marred by injuries, he did not play international cricket for India after 2011.

Yusuf Pathan: Yusuf Pathan had announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in February 2021. The all-rounder was also part of the Road Safety World Series for India Legends. Yusuf played the IPL until 2019 and was a key performer for KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

After the 2011 World Cup, Yusuf played just 6 ODIs. He did not play international cricket after 2012.

Piyush Chawla: Piyush Chawla is an active part of competitive cricket and he will be part of the Mumbai Indians (MI) squad in IPL 2021. Chawla was part of the Gujarat side in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament in 2021.

After the 2011 World Cup, Chawla did not play for India in ODIs. His last outing for India came in December 2012 when he played in a T20I against England.