Gary Kirsten served as the India head coach from 2008 to 2011.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag recently sparked controversy after a video of him went viral, in which he downplayed Gary Kirsten’s role in India's 2011 World Cup victory.
In the clip from a Cricbuzz show, Sehwag claimed that Kirsten played a "very limited role" and argued that "players won us the World Cup" rather than the coach.
He also highlighted Kirsten’s not-so-successful coaching tenure with South Africa and Pakistan cricket teams to strengthen his case.
“Why do people call Gary Kristen the best coach? He didn’t achieve anything remarkable with other teams. The Indian team was already so strong at that time. Kirsten just played a role. He didn’t win us the World Cup. Players won us the World Cup,” Sehwag said.
Sehwag’s comments drew him a lot of flak on social media, with many fans calling him a “very egotistic” person.
Some of them also pointed out contradiction in Sehwag’s statement by sharing an old video, where he lauded Kirsten's coaching and man-management.
On an episode of 'Breakfast With Champions' around 2024, Sehwag explicitly credited Kirsten for helping the team overcome a mental block by treating every ODI between 2008 and 2011 as a "knockout game" to prepare them for the high-pressure World Cup environment.
“There were no expectations from us in the 2007 World Cup. But 2011 World Cup, wherever we went, the airport, the hotel, everyone used to say we have to win the World Cup. There were expectations and pressure, but the credit goes to Gary Kirsten. When he joined in 2008 till 2011 World Cup, whatever ODI cricket we played, he used to say this is a knockout game. So our mindset has become like that. In the World Cup, when we reached the knockout stage, we never felt that we were playing in knockouts. We defeated Australia in the quarter-finals. Pakistan in the semi-finals and Sri Lanka in the final,” Sehwag said.
Gary Kirsten served as the India head coach from 2008 to 2011. Apart from the 2011 World Cup, India became the No. 1-ranked Test team and also won the home Border-Gavaskar Trophy, away Test and ODI series against New Zealand, 2008 CB Series in Australia, and 2009 Compaq Cup in Sri Lanka.
During his successful three-year stint, Kirsten was widely praised for improving player performance and fostering a strong team culture.