Which 2 Indian cricketers in the World Cup 2023 squad were part of the triumphant 2011 team?

Team India on Thursday, September 28, finalized their 15-member squad for ICC Men’s World Cup 2023. The Men in Blue made one late change to their team, replacing all-rounder Axar Patel with experienced off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

Axar picked up a left quadriceps strain during India’s Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 match against Bangladesh. He missed the final and did not feature in the three-match ODI series against Australia as well.

Ashwin was handed a comeback to the ODI team for the series against the Aussies at home. He played in the first two matches and was impressive, registering figures of 1/47 and 3/41, respectively.

Although Washington Sundar, who replaced Axar in the Asia Cup final, was also part of the team, it was clear that the Men in Blue would prefer Ashwin over him in case Axar did not recover in time.

The Rohit Sharma-led team has star names like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Shubman Gill in the batting department and Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Kuldeep Yadav in the bowling department.

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Two players from the current squad who featured in MS Dhoni’s 2011 World Cup-winning team

Only two cricketers from the current Team India squad were part of the side that won the ODI World Cup in 2011, the last time the tournament was held in India. One of them is Ashwin and the other is Kohli. Ashwin, however, did not feature in the final against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai as India went with the more experienced Harbhajan Singh.

As a youngster, Kohli did a decent job in his first World Cup. He played nine matches, scoring 282 runs at an average of 35.25 and a strike rate of 82.21, with one hundred and one half-century.

Kohli’s best of 100* came off 83 balls against Bangladesh in Mirpur. He contributed a crucial 35 in the final and helped steady India’s innings after they lost Virender Sehwag (0) and Sachin Tendulkar (18) early.

On the other hand, Ashwin played only two matches in the 2011 World Cup, claiming four wickets at an average of 23.25 and an economy rate of 4.65. The off-spinner took 2/41 in the group match against West Indies in Chennai.

Ashwin also featured in the famous quarter-final against Australia in Mohali and claimed 2/52, picking up the big wickets of Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting.