As India is inches away from winning the World Cup, the energy in India is unbelievable. Not only in India but across the globe, everybody has been talking about the India – Australia World Cup final. Every Indian in this moment is dreaming about Captain Rohit Sharma holding the World Cup trophy. To keep our excitement in check and to save ourselves from going insane, we did a little research about the World Cup Squad and where these heroic boys were during the previous two wins in the years 1983 and 2011. The answers have left us shocked and chuckling and we think you should know these too! 

1983

As funny as it sounds, nobody from the squad was even born to witness the historic win in 1983 by Kapil Dev and his boys. This was the first time Indians tasted success and became the World Champions. The oldest in the squad is Ravichandran Ashwin who was born in 1986 followed by the Hitman Rohit Sharma who came into the world in 1987. 

World Cup Squad of 1983. Followed by 2011 and 2023

2011

Oh dear! Most of the people reading this have seen the thunderous World Cup finals of 2011. The winning six of Mahendra Singh Dhoni is etched in our memory so deeply, we doubt anything ever could erase that. For those of you who did not watch the match or do not remember it, have surely heard of it. That iconic match put India on the global map and we were once again the Champions in the Cricket world. 

The World Cup Squad of 2011. India also won in 1983

Fast forward to 2023, India has remained unbeatable in the World Cup Tournament and was the first to secure its position in the finals. The batsman and the bowlers are in their top form and the semi-finals against New Zealand was a treat to every Indian. 

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However, what was the squad doing during the 2011 win? While Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin were a part of the winning squad and played for the country, Captain Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja were in the Indian team but had been kept out of the World Cup. 

Surya Kumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami were spotted in the cricket world but were yet to play for India. Surya Kumar Yadav made his way to Mumbai Indians in 2011 and Shami showed his merit as a senior debut for Bengal in a T20 match in 2010, where he took four wickets. 

Shubman Gill was merely 12 years old, Ishaan Kishan was 13, Shreyas Iyer was 16, and KL Rahul was 18 years old. All these young lads, like the audience, were waiting with batted breaths for India to hold the World Cup. KL Rahul in an interview much later described the feeling of India winning the World Cup, while he was living in Bangalore. Hardik Pandya too showed his talent in gully cricket up until 2011 and made his way to a domestic team of Baroda in 2013 and he debuted for India in 2016. 

Like Hardik, Axar Patel also started playing for the domestic team in 2013 and made his international ODI debut in 2014. Jasprit Bumrah too started playing domestic cricket in the 2013-2014 season but it was in 2019 when he made his debut in RCB and won the spotlight. Kuldeep Yadav has been a part of the Indian Under-19 team and also played in the World Cup for the same in 2014. He too rose to prominence in 2019 after his hattrick spell against West Indies.

Kuldeep Yadav, in 1983 and 2011. Played for U-19 World Cup

In 2011 Mohammed Siraj also dreamed of the Indian team holding the World Cup like thousands of others while also wishing to represent India one day. Siraj made a debut in the 2015-16 Ranji Tournament and was later bought by Sunrisers to represent Hyderabad in the IPL. 

All these Indian players have dedicated a large chunk of their lives to India and the game. Their hard work and perseverance may not have contributed to the previous wins in the ODI World Cup but have contributed immensely to the current one. Winning or losing is a part of the game but they are already winners for India and its people.