'MS Dhoni Was Very Serious About...': Ex-India Spinner Shares 'Mantra' Behind India's 2011 WC Win

Two-time World Cup winners MS Dhoni's exceptional captaincy and his unbeaten 91-run innings were highlights of 2011 ODI World Cup's summit clash.

Pragyan Ojha suggested team India management to follow MS Dhoni's mantra behind selection. 

Source : AFP

New Delhi: Many years ago in 2011, the entire nation erupted in joy when captain MS Dhoni hit Sri Lanka's Nuwan Kulasekara for a huge six at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium to power India to their 2nd ODI World Cup win. India had then won an ODI World Cup after a huge gap of 28 years after Kapil Dev beat mighty Windies at Lords in 1983. This was undoubtedly one of the best-ever moments in the history of Indian sports.

Two-time World Cup winners MS Dhoni's exceptional captaincy and his unbeaten 91-run innings were highlights of 2011 ODI World Cup's summit clash. This win helped MS Dhoni become the only Indian captain ever to win all three major ICC trophies in white-ball cricket.  

The T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia is just two months away and team India is yet to get together a full-strength team as some of its key players are either injured or resting due to bad form. Meanwhile, former Indian spinner Pragyan Ojha suggested the Indian cricket team management to follow MS Dhoni's mantra behind selection. 

“I strongly feel that the reason the 2011 World Cup was a success for us was because MS Dhoni was very serious about all the guys who were going to be in the mix, the 25 or 30, needed to play at least 40 games before the World Cup started.

"You may have scored a lot of runs but if you don’t have the experience of dealing with various situations, you may not feel it during the league matches but the most important games, the knockouts, the semi-finals and the finals …. That is when that experience really helps you," said Ojha on Fancode.

Team India is currently playing a T20 series against West Indies. The five-match series is currently leveled at 1-1. After the Windies series gets over, Shikhar Dhawan-led second-string Indian team will tour Zimbabwe for a three-match ODI series.