How Dhoni became a hated figure: India won World Cup today in 2011 but afterwards he was vilified for undeniable reasons

But that World Cup win wasn't just about pleasant memories. The sidelining of some of the top Indian players was also set in motion, kind of right in the aftermath of the win. And that created serious vitriol in Indian cricket for many years.

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Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh and a few others didn't play another World Cup. Tendulkar was the only one who wouldn't have thought of playing another tournament in light of his advanced age, for cricket of course. The rest of those players wouldn't have known that it would be their last World Cup. So many players in the dark!

But that's exactly what happened. Two years later, when India won the Champions Trophy in England, their third ICC white-ball trophy in six years, there were only three players surviving from the playing XI of the 2011 final: Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina.

The phasing out of so many star cricketers cast a pall of gloom and hate over Indian cricket for several years. Almost every single one of the above at some point has blamed Dhoni. Gambhir, now India head coach and winner of two ICC trophies in that role, has been particularly critical of Dhoni in so many interviews since.

And he has a point. His 97 in the final was the most decisive innings in that game. In a high-pressure game, when India lost Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar early on, the match appeared over for the hosts, but Gambhir played one of the most important knocks in ODIs to help India not only come back into the match but also take it to a point from where there was no question of losing it. His 83-run third-wicket stand with Kohli was a masterclass in how to absorb pressure at the biggest stage of international cricket.

But Dhoni got the Man-of-the-Match award instead. Harbhajan and Sehwag have said it so many times that they were told the team was moving on from them and was now looking for younger people when they thought there was still plenty of cricket left in them.

India's next ICC trophy came in 2024, 11 years after they won the Champions Trophy. Since then, there have been two more, with the latest being the T20 World Cup last month. It has to be said that now the criticism of Dhoni has faded a little. Players appear to have moved on.

Recently, Gambhir and Dhoni shared a heart-warming exchange on social media shortly after India's T20 World Cup triumph in Ahmedabad. Players have moved on. Indian cricket has moved on. Cold relations have thawed between many. But then, there are still days for Indian fans when all those unhappy memories come flooding back and remind them that Indian cricket wasn't always what it is today.

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