Four Indian Players Whose Careers Ended After The 2011 ODI World Cup

Team India won their first-ever World Cup in 1983, under the leadership of Kapil Dev. They had to wait for a long 28 years to get their hands back on the trophy, in 2011. Led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian players put up a valiant display against Sri Lanka in the final to clinch their second ODI World Cup win.

It was a team effort that won them the cup in 2011, with Indian players such as Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, all made important contributions during the team’s road to the championship.

But for some Indian players, the 2011 ODI World Cup brought some bad news as well. Players like Piyush Chawla, S. Sreesanth struggled to keep their place in the playing XI after that. And soon after the World Cup, their careers almost nearly ended as they failed to play for team India again.

Today, we will be taking a look at four such players, whose careers almost ended after the 2011 World Cup, despite helping team India to the title.

4) Piyush Chawla

Piyush Chawla made his ODI debut for India against England in 2006. His consistent all-round performances with both the ball and the bat for the next few years landed him a place in the 2011 ODI World Cup squad.

After helping Indian players to the title, Chawla struggled to keep his place in the national team. A lack of consistency is what cost him, and it almost nearly ended his career with team India. Statistically speaking, Chawla scalped just four wickets in seven T20Is that he played.

In ODI cricket, he managed to rack up 32 wickets in 25 matches, which was not enough to sustain his place in the national team.

In the Indian Premier League (IPL) though, he has been a constant presence. After making his debut for Kings XI Punjab, in 2014, he joined Kolkata Knight Riders and became a key player for them. In 2020 players’ auction, Chennai Super Kings acquired his services, for Rs. 6.74 crores.

3) Munaf Patel

Former Indian pacer Munaf Patel’s career too went on a downfall, after winning the 2011 ODI World Cup. Despite his brilliant performances at the World Cup, which saw him collect 11 wickets in nine games, the 36-year-old did not get enough opportunities, post the tournament.

He made his debut in 2006 and amassed 35 wickets, at the average of 38.54 in 13 Test matches. In ODIs, the right-arm pacer has 70 caps and 86 wickets to show for it, at an average of 30.26.

However, Patel did not get enough opportunities in T20Is as he played just three matches for India, and collected four wickets with the economy of 8.60. He played his last international match in 2011 itself, and despite his heroics at the World Cup, Patel’s career never really recovered since.

2) Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan made his international bow in 2007 and became a key player in India’s middle-order for a brief period. Before the ODI World Cup, he scored a brilliant century against South Africa, which prompted the selectors to include him in the 2011 World Cup team.

Despite starting the first six games, Pathan’s indifferent performances led to him being ousted from the playing XI. Since then, he has failed to cement his place in the Indian team. Talking about his stats, the 37-year-old has 13 wickets and 236 runs as an all-rounder in 22 T20I matches.

Furthermore, he has played 57 ODIs scalping 33 wickets and scoring 810 runs. Despite the fact that his career never really took off after the World Cup, Pathan has been a regular feature in the IPL. But in the 2020 auction, the right-handed cricketer got no suitors, and he remained unsold.

1) S. Sreesanth

S. Sreesanth made his debut for team India in 2005 and in the following years, he became a key player in the Indian bowling attack. He took Misbah-ul-Haq’s catch in the T20 World Cup final in 2007 and was equally impressive throughout the tournament.

The 37-year-old continued his good run and was taking all the opportunities he was given, with both hands. Praveen Kumar was injured and Sreesanth replaced him in the 2011 ODI World Cup squad. He had some decent performances at the biggest stage of ODI cricket, but his career failed to revive after that.

The right-arm speedster’s stats remain impressive, as he collected 75 wickets in at the average of 33.44, in 53 ODI matches. In Test matches, he has 27 caps, and 87 wickets at the average of 37.59. In T20 cricket, the former Indian pacer played 10 matches and bagged seven wickets.

Playing for Chennai Super Kings in 2013, Sreesanth was found guilty in the spot-fixing scandal and was banned from cricket subsequently.