India’s last ODI World Cup win came under the leadership of MS Dhoni in 2011 at home beating Sri Lanka at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
New Delhi: The ‘mentality’ of the players is a major factor that differentiates the Indian teams of 2011 and 2023, according to former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. India’s last ODI World Cup came in 2011 at home under the leadership of Dhoni, who scored the winning runs at the Wankhede Stadium against Sri Lanka in the final – a six over long-on off Nuwan Kulasekara.
12 years later, the current batch, led by Rohit Sharma is moving the right way so far in the ODI World Cup 2023, and are one of the title contenders once again at home. Interestingly, starting from 2011 World Cup, all the host teams have won the coveted trophy.
India have so far won all their five games in the ongoing edition and sit atop the table with a maximum of 10 points. On Thursday, Dhoni stated the only difference between the two sides is the mentality of wining the World Cup for Sachin Tendulkar.
“There’s a big difference between the two teams. That team (2011 World Cup-winning Indian side) was a lot more united. They wanted to win the World Cup for Sachin Tendulkar. He commanded a lot of respect from others,” Dhoni said during an event.
“I am not sure about this team. Don’t know who all want to win the World Cup for Virat Kohli. But, they want to win for India for sure. This is a big difference,” added Dhoni, who is the only captain in the world to have all ICC trophies – T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy.
Praising the current Indian team, the 42-year-old stated the side had a good balance. “It’s a very good team. Bohot accha balance hai team ka. Harlog acha khel rahe hain (The team’s balance 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),” he added