'Sachin would get involved in every meeting': Raina narrates 2011 WC dressing room scenes; 'Knew this could be his last'

Suresh Raina narrated how under coach Gary Kirsten and captain Dhoni, India's World Cup squad of 2011 was brimming with unity, one that saw players willing to go the extra mile for each other, especially for Tendulkar, who everyone knew was playing his final World Cup.

The great Sachin Tendulkar would have to wait 22 years to become a World Cup winner. Tendulkar would play the World Cups in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007 but could never get his hands on the coveted ICC Trophy. Finally, in 2011, in front of a packed Wankhede Stadium, his home ground, as MS Dhoni lifted Nuwan Kulasekara for a memorable six and India defeated Sri Lanka in the final by six wickets, did Tendulkar realise his dream of winning the World Cup. It would take six attempts but the Master Blaster was a World Cup winner. It was the first instance that any team had won a World Cup at home as India ended their 28-year-long wait to become World Champions.

Indian players pose with the 2011 World Cup.  (Getty)

The 2011 World Cup squad was special. One of the key members of the team, Suresh Raina narrated how under coach Gary Kirsten and captain Dhoni, India's World Cup squad of 2011 was brimming with unity, one that saw players willing to go the extra mile for each other, especially for Tendulkar, who everyone knew was playing his final World Cup.

"In the 2011 World Cup squad, there was immense unity, everyone was very caring towards each other. Everyone had one aim – to win the World Cup for Sachin, as this could be Paaji's last World Cup. Everyone knew that this was a different team. After the 1983 World Cup, there had been a long gap. Sachin hadn’t won a World Cup. He had played five World Cups and won it in his sixth attempt… in 2011. So, he would get involved in every meeting," Raina told Ranveer Allahbadia on his podcast titled 'The Ranveer Show'.

As fate would have it, Tendulkar would end his World Cup career on a high, emerging as the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament behind Tillakaratne Dilshan, scoring 482 runs at an average of 53.55, including two centuries and two fifties. Raina further highlighted how Kristen and Dhoni always ensured that the dressing room remained calm, which in turn, made everyone feel extremely comfortable.

"Coach Gary Kirsten made sure that everything around was comfortable… players, dressing room. Everything in the dressing room was very casual. And then Dhoni bhai was the captain… he was always very cool and conducting meetings in a manner that everyone was comfortable. That was different, it used to be a lot of fun," the former batter mentioned.