It's been 15 years today since India won their second 50-overs World Cup in 2011. It was an emotional rollercoaster for Indian fans when captain MS Dhoni hit that glorious match-winning six into the stands in the final against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium.
That World Cup win, however, wasn't just about pleasant memories. The sidelining of some of the top Indian players also began around this period, which raised some serious eyebrows in the aftermath of the win.
Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh and a few others didn't play another World Cup.
Tough calls for the captain
Tendulkar was the only one who wouldn't have thought of playing another tournament given his age, at least in cricketing terms.
The rest of those players, however, did not have a clear idea of their futures in the Indian cricket team. Their place in the playing XI remained in question, with the captain taking the tough calls.
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Two years later, when India won the Champions Trophy in England, their third ICC white-ball trophy in six years, there were only three players from the 2011 final XI: Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Suresh Raina.
So many key performers from the 2011 squad getting left out of the team sparked serious questions around the decision-making of Dhoni. Some of them, reportedly, have blamed Dhoni at some point. The current Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir, has been critical of him in various interviews.
Were the critics entirely wrong?
The reality is that Dhoni’s influence during that period was significantly bolstered by the strong backing of N. Srinivasan, who became BCCI president shortly after the World Cup victory. As the owner of India Cements, which owns Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, Srinivasan had a direct stake in Dhoni’s continued presence in the setup. Despite signs that Dhoni’s performance was declining, he remained firmly in place. In fact, Srinivasan himself admitted that he once intervened to retain Dhoni as captain despite considerable opposition. Given these circumstances, the criticism and resentment toward Dhoni were not entirely without basis.
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India’s next ICC trophy arrived in 2024, ending an 11-year wait since their previous Champions Trophy triumph. Since then, they’ve added two more titles, the most recent being last month’s T20 World Cup. In this context, it’s fair to say that the criticism surrounding Dhoni has softened over time, with players and fans alike gradually moving forward.
A notable example came recently when Gambhir and Dhoni shared a warm exchange on social media following India’s T20 World Cup win in Ahmedabad, something that would have seemed unlikely years ago. It reflects how much has changed: players have moved on, and so has Indian cricket. Relationships that were once strained have, in many cases, eased.
Yet, for many Indian fans, there are still moments when those difficult memories resurface, reminders that the journey to where Indian cricket stands today hasn’t always been smooth.
