10 years after April 2, 2011, what are India's World Cup-winning 15 cricketers doing now

More than a billion dreams came true exactly 10 years ago on April 2 in 2011. It was because of a group of cricketers – MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel and S Sreesanth – who helped India win the ODI World Cup after 28 long years. But astonishing as it may sound, India’s XI in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka never played a match together after that fateful night at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. In fact, the 15-member squad was never repeated ever in ODIs.

Needless to say, careers went in different directions for India’s 2011 World Cup heroes. MS Dhoni went on to enhance his reputation as a captain and as a finisher, Sachin Tendulkar retired soon after, Virat Kohli rose through the ranks to now rise to Tendulkar-like stature, Yuvraj Singh had to take a long break because of cancer and the likes of S Sreesanth and Piyush Chawla never played an ODI for India after that World Cup.

10 years down the line, what exactly are India’s 2011 World Cup-winning squad members doing?

MS Dhoni: As mentioned earlier, Dhoni went on to represent India in five more World Cups – three T20 World Cups and two ODI World Cups – and four of them as captain but he could never replicate what he did on the night of April 2 in 2011 in front of a jam-packed Wankhede Stadium. He took India to victory in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. ‘Captain Cool’ announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on August 15, 2020. But he continues to lead Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. Dhoni is currently in Mumbai practising with the CSK squad ahead of IPL 2021.

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Sachin Tendulkar: The legendary cricketer played only 10 ODIs since India’s World Cup win in 2011 before announcing his retirement from the sport in December 2012 and then finally bidding adieu to all forms of cricket in November 2013. Tendulkar brought up the ‘gold-standard’ record of 100 international centuries before his retirement. After briefly trying his hands at broadcasting, Sachin joined IPL franchise Mumbai Indians as a consultant. The master has been working towards building awareness for various social issues – road safety being one of the primary ones. He even organised a tournament involving top players of yesteryears to join the cause. Sadly, days after the completion of the tournament he tested positive for Covid-19. Sachin is currently in home quarantine.

Virender Sehwag: Much was expected from Virender Sehwag. He was perhaps one of the frontrunners to take Sachin’s place in the Indian side across formats but surprisingly, his form dipped after the World Cup. Even though he went on to slam an ODI double ton against West Indies in December that year, injuries and competition from youngsters made Sehwag irregular. He finally announced his retirement from cricket in 2015. Sehwag was also part of the Road Safety World Series recently but apart from that, he works as a broadcaster and also entertains fans through his social media posts.

Gautam Gambhir: Gambhir’s career took a similar route to that of Sehwag. After playing one of the greatest ODI knocks of all time in the final of the tournament, Gambhir’s form faded away. He kept making brief appearances for India till 2016 before finally retired in 2018. In between, Gambhir, however, became one of the most successful captains in the IPL, leading KKR to two titles in 2012 and 2014. The former opener is now an elected member of the parliament.

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Virat Kohli: From being a talented batsman whose aggression knew no bounds to becoming one of the greats of the game, Virat Kohli has come a long way since carrying Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulder after India’s World Cup win in 2011. The right-hander was named India Test captain in 2014-15 when MS Dhoni retired and finally took over the leadership of all three formats in 2017. Under him India has transformed into a global force across formats and has won back to back series in Australia. He recently led India to series wins across all three formats against England at home. The right-hander landed in Chennai and will undergo a mandatory 7-day quarantine before leading RCB in IPL 2021.

Yuvraj Singh: The player of the tournament of India’s World Cup victory, Yuvraj Singh had to wait for more than a year before donning the Indian jersey again as he was down with cancer. He fought his way to claim his spot back in the side and also represented India in the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups. The 2017 Champions Trophy was his last big tournament for India. The stylish left-hander announced his retirement in June 2019.

Suresh Raina: The attacking left-hander wasn’t a regular in the Indian side in that World Cup but his important knocks in the quarterfinal against Australia and in the semifinal against Pakistan were pivotal to India’s success. Raina played regularly for India in the shortest format after that before losing his place in the side in 2017-18. He joined MS Dhoni to announce his retirement from international cricket on August 15 2020. Raina is currently gearing up to represent CSK in IPL 2021.

Yusuf Pathan: The hard-hitting all-rounder played only six ODIs after the 2011 World Cup. In domestic cricket and IPL, however, he was a regular figure in sides like Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad and Baroda. Pathan announced his retirement last month and played for the India Legends in the Road Safety World Series.

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Harbhajan Singh: India’s lead spinner in the 2011 World Cup, Harbhajan played only 10 ODIs since the tournament in four years before going away from the scheme of things in early 2016. Harbhajan, however, continues to be a force to reckon with in the IPL. He was picked up by KKR for his base price of ₹2 crore and is currently in Mumbai preparing for the 14th edition of the IPL.

Ravichandran Ashwin: The crafty off-spinner played second-fiddle to Harbhajan Singh in the 2011 edition of the World Cup and was not even regular in India’s XI. But his career took off after the World Cup. Ashwin was India’s lead spinner in all three formats till the 2017 Champions Trophy. He lost his place in the Indian limited-overs sides in late 2017 but continues to be one of India’s biggest match-winners in red-ball cricket. Ashwin will play for Delhi Capitals in IPL.

Piyush Chawla: The group stage match against Ireland in the 2011 World Cup was Piyush Chawla’s last ODI for India. The leg-spinner did play a few T20Is after that but his international career came to an abrupt end in 2012. Chawla was picked up by defending champions Mumbai Indians in the IPL auctions this year. He was an integral member the strong KKR side under Gambhir.

Zaheer Khan: The joint highest wicket-taker of 2011 World Cup, Zaheer Khan was past his glory days when India lifted the silverware. The left-arm seamer played only six ODIs after the big tournament. He announced his retirement in 2015. After brief commentary stints with various broadcasters, Zaheer then joined Mumbai Indians support staff as director of cricket operations.

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Ashish Nehra: The left-arm seamer missed the final against Sri Lanka due to a finger injury but before that, he was a regular in the side and shared the new ball with Zaheer. Despite his share of multiple injuries, Nehra kept on representing India in limited-overs cricket before announcing his retirement in 2018 after playing a T20I against New Zealand in front of his home crowd in Delhi. After retirement, Nehra joined the RCB support staff but currently, he is a successful commentator in international and domestic cricket.

Munaf Patel: The right-arm seamer played only six matches after the World Cup 2011 final against Sri Lanka before fading away completely. He returned to professional cricket for the Gujarat Lions in IPL 2016 before hanging his boots in 2018. Munaf represented India Legends in the recently concluded Road Safety World Series.

S Sreesanth: The right-arm seamer never played an ODI after India’s World Cup on April 2, 2011. His career went on a downward spiral when he was banned for involvement in spot-fixing in IPL 2013. Sreesanth, however, returned to domestic cricket last year after BCCI revoked his ban. He represented Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s and also in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.