Sachin Tendulkar Rates 2011 World Cup Victory as his Best Moment

Former India captain, Sachin Tendulkar has revealed the 2011 World Cup victory as the best moment in his cricketing career. Tendulkar had already played 20 years of international cricket by then, and inevitably it would have been his final World Cup.

Sachin Tendulkar during an interview with Sky Sports revealed he felt out of the world after lifting the 2011 World Cup trophy.

“That is what I lived for. That is what I started cricket for,” Tendulkar described India’s 2011 World Cup victory to Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports.

Tendulkar was carried by his teammates on the shoulders all around the Wankhede Stadium. It was a moment which the legend had craved for all his life. Finally, he achieved the feat. Virat Kohli put it perfectly and said, ‘Sachin had carried the burden of the nation for 21 years, and it was time for them to carry him on their shoulders.’

However, for Tendulkar, it was more about being cautious. He asked his teammates to be careful and not to drop him.

“Please don’t drop me! It was an unbelievable feeling. It was special, for the teammates to do that, it was pleasing,” Tendulkar said.

Sachin Tendulkar feels nothing can match the 2011 World Cup victory 

There is no doubt about the fact that a World Cup win was celebrated wildly in India. However, the magnitude of the celebration also surprised Tendulkar.

“For me, I’ve never experienced anything like that. How many times do you have the entire country celebrating one event?

“The celebrations were at a different level. Just from Wankhede Stadium to go to the Taj (team hotel) took us an hour-and-a-half and the distance is the only 2/3km. It was jam-packed, and the bus was not able to move, such were the excitement and people dancing on top of cars and celebrating. I’ve never seen India like that; it was a big moment.”

Despite being at the top of his game for 24 years and scoring over 34,000 international runs which included 100 centuries, Tendulkar never had the ego and had the humility of a newcomer.

“I knew I was one of the important members of the squad but never did I think that if I get out, it’s all over,” he added.

“It’s always a team sport. Yes, there are key players, and there are key wickets that the bowlers will pick, and I’d like to believe I was one of those batters.

“Other than that, I felt 2011 was for sure going to be my last World Cup, and being the senior-most player in the squad I had my role to do.”