Virender Sehwag revealed the hilarious reason behind him and other senior Indian team players refusing to lift the legend Sachin Tendulkar after the Men in Blue defeated Sri Lanka in the final of the 2011 World Cup in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, and took a round of honor.
The 2011 World Cup was the last ICC event for Sachin Tendulkar, who equaled Javed Miandad’s record for most World Cup appearances with his sixth time playing in the event. He scored two centuries in the tournament and made 85 against Pakistan in the semi-final in Mohali to help India win.
Though he didn’t do much in the final against Sri Lanka, knocks from Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni were enough for India to chase down 275 runs and win the final and their second World Cup trophy on April 2nd, 2011.
After the match, Virat Kohli and Yusuf Pathan lifted Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders as the team did a lap of honor with Tendulkar holding the Indian tricolor and thanking the fans in the stands.
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Virat Kohli will most likely be the only player from that 2011 winning team to feature in the Indian team for the World Cup 2023, which will be played entirely in India for the first time, starting on October 5.
On the famous visual of Virat Kohli lifting Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulders and taking him around the Wankhede Stadium, Sehwag gave an interesting reason.
"Because we rejected, Sachin was so heavy, we couldn't lift him. We were old. We have shoulder injuries and MS had knee problems, somebody else had other problems. We gave the burden to the youngsters. You go and pick up Sachin Tendulkar and give him a round. That's why it was Virat Kohli," Sehwag said with a smile on his face at the ICC 2023 World Cup fixture event on Tuesday.
The Indian team will begin their World Cup 2023 tournament on October 8 against Australia in Chennai.
(PTI inputs)
