With the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 upon us, the Indian cricket team gears up for the tournament as they look to defend the title.
The Men in Blue, led by MS Dhoni back in 2013 defeated England to lift the Champions Trophy for the second time in their history.
The first time they got their hands on the trophy was back in 2002 but were forced to share the spoils with the Sri Lankan cricket team after the final was washed out on two occasions.
Also Read: India's 2003 World Cup Squad: Where Are They Now?
Out of the 15 member squad which travelled to Sri Lanka 15 years ago, there are 3 members who are still active on the international circuit and only one who will feature in the Champions Trophy in England this year as well.
Let’s take a look at India’s 2002 Champions Trophy squad and where they are now:
Dinesh Mongia came into the tournament after an extremely successful outing against Zimbabwe earlier that year with a man of the series performance.
He was in the form of his life at the time but unfortunately went missing at the time of the Champions Trophy. He managed to score only 1 run in the 3 innings he played and failed to make any sort of an impact. He did not enjoy a long career with the Indian side due to inconsistent performances.
He played his last ODI in 2007 against Bangladesh after which he played in the rebel Indian Cricket League which is now defunct where he was accused of match fixing.
He also played for the Lashings World XI side. He is currently coaching a school team in Chandigarh and also acted in a movie called Kabab Mein Haddi where he played a parody of Amitabh Bachchan.
Virender Sehwag had just cemented his position as an opener before the Champions Trophy and that move turned out to be the turning point in his career.
He proved to immensely successful in the Champions Trophy and was their leading run-getter in the tournament. In the 5 matches he played, he amassed 271 runs at an average of 90.33 with one century and one half-century to his name.
Sehwag became a long stay in the Indian side and played an integral role in their success until 2011. He is currently extremely active on Twitter and was appointed as the head of cricket operations and strategy for the Kings XI Punjab side in the IPL.
Sourav Ganguly took over the captaincy of the Indian cricket team in 2000 shortly after the match-fixing saga and completely transformed the side.
Arguably one of the best captains India has ever seen, Ganguly took the side to Champions Trophy success in 2002. Just one year after that, he captained India to the final of the World Cup as well.
In 3 innings, he scored 143 runs at an average of 71.50 with one century to his name.
After his retirement in 2008, Ganguly played in the IPL for a couple of years, took up roles in cricket administration, and even bought a football team in the Indian Super League (Atletico De Kolkata). He is currently the honourable President of the Cricket Association of Bengal. He is also a renowned cricket commentator.
Sachin Tendulkar is arguably the greatest ever batsman to have played the game after Sir Donald Bradman. He single-handedly took India to numerous victories during his playing days, especially in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Unfortunately, he did not achieve much success in the 2002 Champions Trophy as he managed only 39 runs in 4 innings at an average of 19.50.
However, he followed that up with a man of the tournament performance in the world cup in 2003 after which he continued to be the go-to batsman for India in both formats of the game.
He holds the record for scoring the most number of international runs in Tests and ODIs and is the only batsman to have scored 100 international centuries. He is currently the mentor of the Mumbai Indians side in the IPL and has just released his biopic – Sachin: A Billion Dreams.
Rahul Dravid, also known as the wall of Indian cricket was one of the best Test batsmen India has ever seen. He did not have too much to boast about in the shorter format of the game as he came to bat lower down the order.
He did manage to score 120 runs in 2 innings in the tournament back in 2002 at an average of 60 with two half-centuries to his name. His ODI career was pretty much over after India’s disastrous 2007 campaign but continued to play a huge role in the Test side until his retirement.
He is currently the head coach of the Indian U-19 side and India A side as well. Under his guidance, the Indian U-19 side reached the final of the 2016 World Cup.
Yuvraj Singh came into the tournament after making name for himself in the historic Natwest Series final win against England. He had slowly started establishing himself as the perfect middle order batsman for the Men in Blue.
He managed to bat in only 2 innings throughout the tournament and scored 65 runs with one half-century to his name.He proved on to play many match winning knocks for India and was the man of the tournament in India’s 2011 world cup win.
He is the only one of three cricketers from the 2002 squad to continue to actively play international cricket and the only one to be included in India’s squad for the 2017 Champions Trophy. He also plays for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
Mohammed Kaif came into the tournament after taking India to the historic win against England in the Natwest Series final in 2002.
Just like his partner in crime Yuvraj, Kaif managed to bat in only 2 innings in the 2002 Champions Trophy and managed to score a match-winning century as well.
Kaif did not have a long career with the Men in Blue as his inconsistent performances led to him being dropped from the side shortly after the World Cup. He continues to play cricket to date and is the captain of the Chattisgarh state team.
Harbhajan Singh is one of the best spinners to come out of India’s ranks and is one of the three cricketers along with Yuvraj Singh to continue to play international cricket.
He was one of the best performers with the ball in the tournament back in 2002 as he picked up 6 wickets in 5 matches including a 3 wicket haul against Sri Lanka in the first final.
He continued to play a big role in the Indian cricket for the years to come and was a part of the world cup winnings squads of 2007 and 2011.
He is still active on the international circuit as he fights to make a comeback to the national side. He is also a part of the Mumbai Indians franchise in the IPL.
Zaheer Khan is undoubtedly one of the best fast bowlers to have played for India. He played a huge role in India’s success in all the big tournaments in the 21st century. He was the leading wicket-taker for India in the 2002 Champions Trophy, 2003 World Cup, and 2011 World Cup as well.
He continued to lead the pace attack for the Indian side right until his retirement from the game.
He was plagued with injuries towards the end of his career, which eventually led to him giving way to the likes of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav. He announced his retirement from cricket in 2015 and is currently enjoying his life outside cricket. He captained the Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2017.
Anil Kumble is arguably the greatest ever spinner to have played for the Indian cricket team. With 619 wickets to his name, he sits third on the list of most wickets taken, just behind Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan.
He picked up 4 wickets in 4 matches in the Champions Trophy back then and led the Indian bowling attack for the years to come. He was even the Test captain for a year between 2007 and 2008.
After his retirement from international cricket, he went on to play the IPL for a few years with the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
After his retirement from the IPL, he took up roles as the chief mentor of RCB and Mumbai Indians between 2012 and 2015. He is currently the head coach of the Indian cricket team.
Ajit Agarkar is one of the best ODI bowlers to have played for India and has achieved a lot of success for the Men in Blue in a career which spanned 9 years.
Unfortunately, he played only 2 matches in the entire tournament in 2002 and picked up two wickets. He was quite expensive with the ball as he conceded runs at an economy rate of over 6 runs per over.
He was an effective ODI bowler post the 2003 World Cup but was dropped from the side after India’s poor campaign in the 2007 World Cup. After his retirement, Agarkar played a lot of golf and even won a corporate tournament in 2016 in New Delhi. He was also seen as a cricket analyst during IPL 2017.
Javagal Srinath was one of the fastest and most fearsome bowlers to have played for India. He was known for his ability to bowl at a quick pace and swing the ball as well.
Unfortunately, he managed to play only one game in the 2002 Champions trophy and conceded 55 runs in the 8 overs he bowled.
He retired shortly after the 2003 world cup and played for the Lashings World XI in 2005. He was also the former secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association and is currently an ICC match referee.
Jai Prakash Yadav was the only cricketer in India’s squad who did not play a single game in the 2002 Champions Trophy.
He was diagnosed with a tumour early in his career at the age of 21 and defied the odds as he made his debut for the Indian cricket team shortly after his recovery.
JP had a short-lived career for the Men in Blue as he played only 12 ODIs in his career. After his retirement almost a decade ago, he worked on his fitness and physically transformed himself over the next 10 years.
He took up the role of the chief selector of the Railways in 2013 and is currently the coach of the side.
Ashish Nehra is one of the biggest fighters in the Indian cricket team and has time and again gone on to prove that age is no bar. Along with Yuvraj and Harbhajan, he is still active on the international circuit and just keeps on improving as he gets older.
He featured in 3 matches over the course of the tournament in 2002 and picked up two wickets. He was an integral part of India’s 2003 world cup squad as well.
At the age of 37, he still continues to get selected for the Indian T20 squad. He last played a T20I against England in February. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury during the IPL 2017 while playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
VVS Laxman was one of the best Test batsmen for India and had a glorious career playing in the middle order of the Test side.
Just like Dravid, his ODI career was not as illustrious as his Test career and he did not make too much of mark in the shorter format of the game.
He features in two matches in the 2002 Champions Trophy and managed only 26 runs. After his retirement in 2012, he opened up a foundation with his wife known as the VVS foundation. The foundation supports the education of underprivileged kids and helps in nurturing and developing their skills.
He is also a mentor of the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise in the IPL and is a cricket analyst as well.
