Revealed: Where Are The Indian Players Now Who Won The Test Series In New Zealand In 2009

The Indian National Cricket Team is currently on a tour to New Zealand. After levelling the tour in the T20s and ODIs so far, New Zealand and India will are facing off in the Test leg. The two-match series is underway at Basin Reserve in Wellington.

It will be a series for India to prove some major points. Having been whitewashed in the ODI series, they have a chance to bounce back in the Tests. But, the records do not favour them in this aspect.

India have only won a couple of Test series in New Zealand so far. They first won it during the 1967-68 tour under Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi’s leadership claiming the four-match series 3-1.

India had to wait for long before grabbing hands on their second series win which came in the year 2009 under MS Dhoni‘s leadership.

Let’s have a look at the Indian players who won the series in 2009 as to where they are now and what are they doing in life?

Current State Of Indian Players Who Won The Test Series in New Zealand in 2009:

Virender Sehwag:

One of the most destructive openers of world cricket, Virender Sehwag is still ruling people’s hearts. One of the greatest Test batsmen of India, Sehwag has never really been away from the sport.

However, the 2009 New Zealand series wasn’t very successful for him. He had a meagre average of 28.00 in the ODIs and could score only 140 runs in the process. He shifted his gears after the tour and played some beautiful knock for the country.

In the present time,  Sehwag is quite active on social media platforms and is among one of the most humorous men out there. He has an international school named after him in Haryana wherein sports is also an important discipline apart from studies.

Sehwag is also seen as cricket analyzer and expert in various chat shows.

Sachin Tendulkar:

Sachin Tendulkar is the ‘God of Cricket.’ He is simply the best player ever to have stepped on to the field and has almost all the records to his name in international cricket.

Tendulkar is widely acknowledged for his contribution to the sport by fans and experts all around the world. Tendulkar was a key part of the squad that travelled and won the Test series in New Zealand in 2009.

In fact, Sachin had played some fantastic knocks throughout the series. India won the first game of the series and the other two games ended in a draw that helped them clinch the series 1-0.

At present, veteran Tendulkar is seen in many commercial advertisements. Tendulkar was a member of BCCI’s CAC till some time but due to conflict of interest, he put his feet behind.

Tendulkar has started Middlesex Global Academy in Mumbai along with Sussex.

Gautam Gambhir:

Team India’s veteran opener Gautam Gambhir was also a part of India’s playing eleven, which won the Test series in New Zealand in 2009 after a long time. The opener batted brilliantly in this series.

Gambhir gave a strong start to Team India by playing brilliant innings of 72 runs in the first match.

In that match, India had a spectacular victory by 10 wickets. In the first innings of the second match, he played another explosive inning. For this, he was also awarded the title of man of the match.

Although this match ended in a draw, team India won the series 1–0. Currently, Gambhir is MLA of East Delhi. He is also seen working as a cricket expert and commentator.

Rahul Dravid:

Rahul Dravid was called the ‘Wall’ of Team India as once Dravid used to stick to the crease, even the bowler could not succeed in getting him out.

Dravid with the image of a good boy is one of the few players whose cricket career has been successful, but he has not been part of any controversy.

Rahul, who was part of the team that won the Test series on the tour of New Zealand in 2009, had a great performance. Dravid scored 314 runs in 6 innings of 3 matches at an average of 62.80.

Currently, Dravid is the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Also, he is sometimes seen teaching game techniques to under-19 lads.

VVS Laxman:

VVS Laxman, the explosive batsman of Team India, known in world cricket as ‘Very-Special’, was also part of the Test series played against New Zealand in 2009. VVS scored 295 runs at an average of 73.75. in five innings of three matches during this period.

With the help of strong innings of VVS, Team India won the series 1-0. In 2012, VVS abruptly said goodbye to his international cricket career. Due to this, cricket fans were also very disappointed.

VVS is currently seen commentating and at the same time he is also seen in shows as a cricket specialist.

Yuvraj Singh:

Yuvraj Singh, the legendary all-rounder of the Indian cricket team, is known as Sixer King in world cricket. It was only after playing under-19 under the captaincy of Mohammad Kaif in 2008 that Yuvi got the ticket for Team India. After this, Yuvraj did not look back again.

Yuvraj, who created giant records in all three formats, was also a part of Team India in the Test series played on the tour of New Zealand in 2009. During this time Yuvi could not perform anything special. He got a chance to bat in 5 innings where he could get 110 runs and one wicket at an average of 31.25.

On 10 June 2019, Yuvi said goodbye to his illustrious international cricket career.

After taking permission from BCCI, now Yuvraj is seen playing in foreign leagues.

MS Dhoni:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the most successful captain of the Indian cricket team, has also been a part of Team India, who defeated New Zealand in 2009 on his own land. Mahi was part of the team as captain in the first two matches of this series. Where he scored 47, 52 runs respectively.

Dhoni was not part of the playing eleven in the third match and the captaincy was handed over to Sehwag and wicketkeeping to Dinesh Karthik. After playing and captaining cricket for India for a long time, Mahi is walking away from the cricket field these days.

The last time Dhoni wore an Indian jersey in the semi-final match of the ICC World Cup, where he scored an innings of 50 runs. However, Dhoni has not announced his retirement until now.

Currently, Mahi leads the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Also, Mahi is seen in many commercial advertisements. He has his own brand called ‘SEVEN’.

Harbhajan Singh:

Indian cricket team’s legendary spin bowler Harbhajan Singh, during the tour of New Zealand in 2009, bowled a great spell for Team India and took the most wickets during the entire series.

Under difficult circumstances, the spinner took 16 wickets in 3 matches at an average of 21.38.

Bhajji contributed immensely in helping India win this series. Harbhajan has been out of the Indian team for a long time, but he has not announced his retirement yet.

Harbhajan may not get a chance to play in Team India but he is the senior spin bowler of IPL franchise CSK. For IPL 2020, Harbhajan has been retained by the franchise.

Zaheer Khan:

Zaheer Khan, the famous fast bowler in the history of cricket is considered as India’s very own ‘Sultan of Swing’ . The fast bowler played a key role in helping Team India win the 2009 tour of New Zealand.

In this series, the fast bowler took 13 wickets in 3 matches with an average of 30.77 due to his superb swing. Zaheer has represented India in 92 Test 200 ODIs and 18 T20 matches for India.

In this, he has named 311, 282, 17 wickets respectively.

Zaheer, who has said goodbye to his international cricket, is currently the team director of the most successful IPL franchise Mumbai Indians. He is associated with Cricbuzz wherein he is seen as a guest in chat shows.

Ishant Sharma:

Fast bowler of Indian cricket team Ishant Sharma is still a part of the Test team. His experience and fast bowling are very helpful in keeping India number-1 in Test cricket. Ishant made his debut against Bangladesh in 2007.

Since then, he became a regular member of the team and continued to take wickets continuously.

On the tour of New Zealand in 2009, Ishant took 8 wickets in 3 matches at an average of 41.75. Ishant may not have got a place in the limited-overs cricket squad since 2016, but he is still a part of India’s Test team. Senior fast bowler also advises bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami on the field.

Talking about the present scenario, Ishant is still playing an important role in helping India win by bowling brilliantly in Test cricket.

Not only this, Ishant is currently touring New Zealand with Team India for the Test series starting on 21 February.

Munaf Patel:

Fast bowler Munaf Patel played the first Test match for India in 2006 against England. Although Munaf’s cricket career was not long, he had some good performances for India on the basis of fast bowling.

In 2009, after a long time, the Indian cricket team tasted the defeat of New Zealand in the Test series on its land.

In this series, Munaf Patel was able to take 6 wickets in 3 matches with an average of 48.33.

After being out of Team India for a long time, the player left his international cricket career in 2018.

Currently, Munaf is the coach of the Vadodara cricket team.

Laxmipathy Balaji:

Laxmipathy Balaji became a member of the Indian cricket team as Fast Medium bowler in 2003. Playing for his state team since 2001, he made his Test debut against New Zealand at Ahmedabad in 2003.

He was never given a chance in the final eleven of team India throughout the entire Test series and couldn’t portray the talent he had.

He has played a total of only eight Test matches and has clinched 27 wickets in those games. After retirement, Balaji has had the opportunity to have a coaching stint as the bowling coach of Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.

Dinesh Karthik:

One of India’s most promising wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has ever struggled for a place in the Indian squad.

Since Dhoni’s retirement, Wriddhiman Saha has been the regular wicketkeeper for India in Tests and Karthik has always been short of grabbing the opportunity.

He was given a single game in the 2009 tour and couldn’t do much in the game. Presently, Karthik is struggling for a place in the Indian limited-overs squad and is a key player for KKR in the Indian Premier League.

Dhawal Kulkarni:

Dhawal Kulkarni is an Indian first-class cricketer. He is a right-arm medium-pace bowler and right-handed lower-order batsman. He was included in the Test squad for the tour of New Zealand in 2009 but didn’t make a debut.

Presently, in first-class cricket, he plays for Mumbai and in the Indian Premier League, he plays for Mumbai Indians.

Amit Mishra:

Amit Mishra is an attacking right-arm bowler and right-handed tail-ender batsman. He has played a total of 22 Test matches for India and clinched 76 wickets in the format.

In the 2009 series, he was not given a chance in all the three games and couldn’t leave an impact during the tour.

He currently plays for Haryana in the domestic Ranji Trophy and appears for the T20 franchise Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL.