Best XI Of Indians Who Represented In 50-Over World Cups After 2000

After 2000, Team India has actually had a good run in 50-over World Cups. Barring the 2007 edition in West Indies when the Indians went out of the tournament early, it has been a decent performance by the men in blue at the mega-event.

While Team India reached the finals in 2003 and won the tournament in 2011, in 2015 and 2019, the squad reached the knockout stages. With the 2023 World Cup scheduled in India, the team will be one of the favourites to lift the trophy. In this article, we take a look at the best XI of Indians who represented in 50-over World Cups after 2000.

Openers: Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma

Sachin Tendulkar still holds the record for scoring the maximum runs at the World Cup. The Master Blaster was in top form in 2003 and the 2011 edition, both tournaments in which Team India did well. He is the obvious choice to slot in at this position.

Sachin's partner at the top is his city-mate Rohit Sharma. At the 2019 World Cup, the Mumbaikar lit the tournament with his attacking display. He helped India reach the semi-finals of the tournament.

Middle-Order: Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni (C&WK)

It has mostly been the openers who have done well for Team India at the World Cup. Especially for his knock in the final of the 2011 World Cup, Gautam Gambhir comes in at No.3 in this XI. Although Virat Kohli has not lit up any World Cup so far, he still is India's second-highest run-scorer at the 50-over World Cups after Sachin Tendulkar. Hence, he comes in at No.4 in this XI.

Sourav Ganguly has done really well at the World Cups. He was India's second-highest run-getter at the 2003 World Cup. His captaincy was also on point in that edition. MS Dhoni delivered the innings of his life in the final of the 2011 World Cup. Hence, he also features in this XI.

All-Rounders: Yuvraj Singh

India has always had the problem of balance due to a lack of all-rounders in the squad. However, in 2011, Yuvraj Singh plugged the gap and India won the trophy eventually. The man from Punjab also won the man-of-the-series award for his performance in the tournament. He will be remembered forever in the history books for his contribution to Team India in that series.

Bowlers: Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah

Although Anil Kumble has picked up more wickets than Bhajji in World Cups, it is the latter who has done better in the 50-over World Cups after 2000. Hence, he comes in as the spinner in this line-up.

The rest of the bowling line-up is a really solid one. India's highest wicket-taker at the World Cups Zaheer Khan will lead this attack. Partnering with him will be Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, both of whom did a good job at the World Cup assignments that they were given. It also needs to be mentioned that Umesh Yadav did well in the 2015 World Cup.