Bengaluru: Legendary cricketer and former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has come up with an interesting answer after being quizzed about the difference between India's current World Cup squad and the title-winning team in 2011 saying that there is one factor differentiating both the teams, the team was hell-bent upon winning the trophy for Sachin Tendulkar as it was his swan song.
"There's a big difference between the two teams. That team (the 2011 World Cup-winning Indian side) was a lot more united. They wanted to win the World Cup for (cricket icon) Sachin Tendulkar. He commanded a lot of respect from others. I am not sure about this team. Don't know whether they wanted to win the World Cup for Virat Kohli or not. But, they want to win for India for sure. This is a big difference," Dhoni remarked in an event held in Bengaluru.
"It's a very good team. Bohot accha balance hai team ka. Harlog acha khel rahe hain (The teamwork is extremely good. All the players are playing well. So, everything is looking very good. Isse zyada main kuch nahi bolunga, baaki samajhdaar ko ishara kaafi hai (I won't say anything more than this. For the wise, the signal is enough)," Dhoni signs off.
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India won the 2011 World Cup and Dhoni's commendable leadership played a role in it. Furthermore, the Indian cricketers dedicated the victory to Sachin Tendulkar as it was his last World Cup. Dhoni also revealed that the 2019 World Cup semi-final defeat against New Zealand hurt him following, which he decided to draw curtains on his famed limited-overs career.
In the semi-final of the previous ODI World Cup held in England, India was chasing a target of 240, but their batting lineup faltered at the start. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja played a brilliant knock of 77 runs in the fixture while Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored a half-century, but they failed to take India over the finish line.
A million hearts were broken when Martin Guptill ran out MS Dhoni at Old Trafford, Manchester during the semi-final against the Kiwis of the 2019 ODI World Cup. Speaking about the loss for the first time in public, MS Dhoni revealed that he was hurt after the defeat and had made up his mind to retire from the white-ball formats.
"It gets difficult to control your emotions when you have lost a close game. And inside, I had made my entire planning. To me, that was the last day I played cricket for India. I took retirement a year later, but in fact that day I had retired. Sharing the emotions he was going through while contemplating the decision, MS Dhoni said that the thought of never representing the country again was bothering him."
"You are high on emotions. The only thing you've done in the last 12-15 years is play cricket. And then there is no more chance of you representing the country. There are so many people, but only a few get that opportunity. And sportspersons, they have that. Irrespective of which sport you play, you are representing your country. Be it the Commonwealth Games, or the Olympics... so, once I quit cricket, there was no way I would be representing my country. I could no longer bring any glory. All those things are going on in mind," he pointed out.
Although Dhoni has retired from international cricket, he still plays a key role in the Indian Premier League (IPL) while captaining Chennai Super Kings and has led his side to five IPL trophies so far.
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