Gautam Gambhir, 2011 World Cup
Gautam Gambhir's full-strength dive during his match-winning 97 [Image-Getty]

Former Indian opener and someone who played a pivotal role in Team India winning the World Cup on this day ten years ago, Gautam Gambhir, has said that it is time that cricket crazy nation moves on from that memorable heist.

The entire nation is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the World Cup when India became the first team in history to win the quadrennial event on home soil.

But Gautam Gambhir, who smashed a match-winning 97 in the final, isn’t someone who basks into past glory. As far as Gambhir is concerned, while it was a proud moment, it is high time that India wins another World Cup.

“It doesn’t feel like yesterday. Not for me at least. It’s been what, 10 years now? I am not a person who looks back too much. Obviously, it’s a proud moment but you know what, it’s time for Indian cricket to move forward. Probably, now it’s time that we win the next World Cup ASAP,” Gautam Gambhir told news agency PTI.

India, World Cup
Team India pose with the World Cup Trophy [Image-Getty]
The 2011 World Cup-winning team secured its place in the uppermost echelon of Indian cricket but according to Gautam Gambhir, the team didn’t do anything special.

The former opener added that the players chosen for that event were tasked with the responsibility of winning the World Cup and that is exactly what they did.

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“In 2011, we didn’t do anything that we weren’t meant to do. When we were picked to play the World Cup, we were supposed to win the World Cup. When we were selected, we didn’t just go out there to compete, we went out there to win,” Gambhir said.

“There were no such emotions as far as I was concerned. We didn’t do anything extraordinary, yes we made the country proud, people were happy, it’s time to move on to the next World Cup,” he said.

 

‘We didn’t do any favours’- Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir (Image Credit: Twitter)

Gambhir’s 97 laid the cornerstone for an eventual Indian win in the final. However, the southpaw once again iterated that he did not do anything special. He was supposed to get those runs just like Zaheer Khan was tasked with getting wickets.

“If I got 97, I was supposed to get those runs. Zaheer Khan’s job was to pick wickets. We were supposed to do our jobs. What we did on April 2, we didn’t do anyone any favours,” he added.

Post that World Cup win in 2011, Team India has failed to breach the semi-final stage in the succeeding tournaments. While in 2015, they were beaten by Australia, in 2019, it was the Kiwis that broke their dream of doing an encore.

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Gambhir claimed that had -India won those two World Cups then they would have been considered as a superpower in cricket.

“Probably, India would have been considered superpower in world cricket if we had won the 2015 or the 2019 World Cup. It’s 10 years and we haven’t won another World Cup. That’s why I never go too overboard with things that ‘oh this is a special achievement’. reckoned Gautam Gambhir.

“I simply don’t understand, why people just keep going back and get that high of 1983 or 2011. Yes, it’s nice to talk about it and it’s ok. We won the World Cup, but its always good to look ahead instead of looking back More we look backwards, we would never able to move ahead,” Gambhir signed off.

Also Read- Here’s How India’s 2011 World Cup Winning Members Are Celebrating The 10th Anniversary Of The Memorable Heist