India's 2007 World T20 Winning Team: Where are they now? 

At the recently concluded ICC Women's World T20, the Indian Team got knocked out in the semi-finals. This was disappointing for fans especially because many believed that a victory in this tournament could provide a catalyzing effect to the growth of women's cricket in India, particularly in the T20 format, similar to the effect that India's victory in the 2007 men's World T20 had on T20 cricket in India and the advent of the IPL.

Some of the players responsible for India's victory went on to become stars, whereas, for others, the World T20 victory was as good as it got. Some of them remained in the team for years on end and are still playing, whereas others virtually ceased to have international careers after that tournament.

This slideshow looks at how, broadly, the careers of each of those fifteen players transpired after the victory and what each of them is doing now.

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#1 Virender Sehwag

The World T20 of 2007 threw Virender Sehwag a lifeline. At that point in time, he had been dropped from both the ODI and the Test teams, and his career appeared to be spiralling downwards. However, thanks in no small part to the World T20, 'Viru', as he is affectionately called, returned to both teams within the space of a few months.

He performed extremely well on return and was a consistent figure in Indian squads, including the 2011 World Cup winning squad, until 2013, after which he was dropped to never return, though he did play in domestic cricket and in the IPL for two more years. These days, he has become a prominent social media personality and cricket commentator.

Further, he has ventured into the coaching space, serving in various capacities for the Kings XI Punjab before parting ways earlier this year and even applying for the position of Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team after Anil Kumble's departure.

#2 Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir, the unsung hero of India's victory in the 2007 World T20, entered the best phase of his career in the period following the tournament. He performed extremely well across formats for the next few years and played several memorable innings, such as his marathon knock in Napier and his match-winning 97 in the 2011 ICC World Cup final.

However, after the 2011 World Cup, Gambhir's form went into an extreme downward spiral and he was dropped from the Indian team in 2012/13. Despite making sporadic comebacks to the Indian test team in 2014 and 2016, Gambhir could not hold onto his place and was almost immediately dropped.

Despite highs and lows in his international career, Gambhir remained a consistent performer for many years, turning out for the Delhi Daredevils in the first three seasons and the Kolkata Knight Riders for the next seven, leading them to two IPL titles along the way. However, in 2018, on his return to the Delhi Daredevils, he failed to perform both as a batsman and as a captain.

Thus, after leading the Daredevils to only one win in the first six games of the season, Gambhir resigned as captain and effectively dropped himself from the side. Following that season, he was released by the Delhi Daredevils.

On 4th December 2018, Gautam Gambhir announced his retirement from all forms of professional cricket, and the cricketing world is looking forward to seeing what is in store for his second innings.

#3 Robin Uthappa

After the 2007 World T20, Robin Uthappa had an inconsistent spell with the Indian team and was dropped the following year. For the next six years, barring one-off recalls to the Indian T20 international side, Uthappa toiled in domestic cricket for Karnataka and turned out for various franchises in the IPL.

However, the IPL of 2014 proved to be a turning point in Uthappa's career: playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders, he scored 660 runs and ended up as the highest run-getter in the tournament, winning the orange cap. This stellar performance led to his re-call into the Indian limited overs sides; however, he missed out on the 2015 World Cup side and was soon dropped from the Indian side.

These days, Uthappa has switched domestic teams from his native Karnataka to Saurashtra and has been playing across formats for Saurashtra. In the IPL, he plays as the vice-captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders and is one of their mainstays. Most recently, he has also ventured into the cricket commentary and analyst space.

#4 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma, India's current limited overs vice-captain and one of the finest batsmen in the world, has certainly come a long way since the ICC World T20 2007, the tournament where he showcased his ability on the world stage. For six years after the World T20, until 2013, consistency eluded Rohit, who, despite being widely regarded as one of the most talented young players in the world, struggled to cement his place in the Indian side.

However, in the Champions Trophy of 2013, Rohit Sharma turned opener, and that changed his career. Since 2013, barring perhaps Virat Kohli, he has been the best and most destructive batsman in the limited overs game. His test career, on the other hand, has been topsy-turvy; however, he has been recalled for the Indian test side for the upcoming series against Australia, and this presents him with another opportunity to re-vitalise his test career.

In the IPL, he has captained the Mumbai Indians since 2013 and has led them to three titles, making himself one of the most successful captains in IPL history.

#5 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh, the star of India's triumphant campaign in the 2007 World T20, is unfortunately now a shadow of the swashbuckling destructive batsman, handy bowler, and gun fielder he used to be. While his test career never really kicked off, Yuvraj, as a limited overs player, was in red-hot form until the World Cup of 2011, the tournament in which he was at the peak of his career and emerged as the player of the tournament.

However, less than a year after that, Yuvaraj received a piece of news which was heartbreaking not only for him but also for the entire cricketing fraternity: he had been diagnosed with cancer.

The immensely courageous Yuvraj recovered and came back to play cricket, which is a miracle in itself. Unfortunately, he was never the same player and was dropped from the Indian team in 2013.

Being the fighter he is, he made comebacks in 2014, 2016, and 2017; however, it looks almost certain that Yuvraj Singh, one of the finest Indian limited-overs players throughout history, has played his last match in an India jersey. It seems that a player like Yuvraj who was meant for the big stage is certain to end his career in relative obscurity playing domestic cricket.

#6 Dinesh Karthik

That Dinesh Karthik is playing international cricket for India eleven years after the World T20 triumph is a testament to the tenacity and strength of the man himself. Karthik, who has unfortunately spent most of his career in the shadow of MS Dhoni, was dropped from the side in 2007/08. He made a comeback to the side in 2009 and played for a year and a half until he was dropped again in 2010.

After that, he made a comeback in the 2013 Champions Trophy but was again dropped in early 2014 again. But finally, after working extensively with Abhishek Nayar and changing several aspects of his game, Karthik re-entered international cricket in the Champions Trophy of 2017 and looks to be in the best touch he has ever been in. Despite a short test comeback earlier this year, it seems that his in the Indian team lies in the white ball game.

While he has not been given an extended run in the ODI set-up, he has emerged as one of India's best finishers in the T20 format, guiding them to several wins, most famously in the Nidahas Trophy final in March earlier this year. Karthik has established himself in the T20 set-up, and with the World Cup around the corner and the form he appears to be in, Karthik will be keen to put himself on the flight to England as well.

#7 MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni is one of India's all-time greats, both as a player and as a captain. Dhoni has gone on to win everything conceivable for a captain - IPL and Champions League T20 titles, the number one ranking in Test cricket, the 2011 ICC World Cup, and of course, the 2007 World T20, the tournament where he first donned the captain's hat.

Soon after this tournament, MS Dhoni was made India's captain across formats and served as test captain until 2014 and limited-overs captain until 2017. MS Dhoni, who has also been unarguably the most illustrious captain in the ten years of the IPL, has retired from Test cricket, is virtually out of the T20 international side, and is just about holding on to his place in the ODI side.

However, it is also an open secret that one of India's greatest ever captains is set to retire after the next ICC World Cup, and while critics have labelled him a liability to the side and have made calls for him to be dropped, Dhoni will leave behind a void in Indian cricket which will be near impossible to fill.

#8 Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan's career, for a man who was once touted as the next Garfield Sobers, is a story of immense unfulfilled potential, misfortune, and untimely injuries. The man who holds the distinction of being one of the only players to open the batting and the bowling in the same Test match played his last international match in the format in April 2008, less than a year after the World T20 final of 2007.

Later that year, he was dropped from the ODI and T20 international sides as well and would remain overlooked by the national selectors for the next three to four years. However, a return to fitness and form, along with a fruitful IPL and Ranji Trophy season, saw Pathan receive a recall to the Indian set-up in December of 2011. But it was not meant to be, for one of the most talented all-rounders in the history of Indian cricket would end up being dropped again a few months later, presumably having played his last international match.

Despite the tumult in his international career, Pathan remained an extremely valuable commodity in the IPL, turning out for the Kings XI Punjab in the first three seasons, the Delhi Daredevils in the next three, and a host of other teams thereafter. However, for the last few seasons, the younger Pathan has gone unsold in the auction, and it seems certain that his IPL career is also over.

Further, after being dropped by the Baroda domestic team, he switched teams to Jammu and Kashmir, and it seems certain that a player who was meant for so much more is destined to finish his career playing in the lower rungs of domestic cricket.

#9 Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan, who made his international debut in the final of the World T20, had virtually no role in India's victory; however, for the next five years, despite being dropped once in 2009, he featured fairly regularly in the Indian limited overs team and produced some outstanding performances, such as his 123* against New Zealand to lead India to victory when they were down and out and his 105 against South Africa in which he was the lone warrior fighting in vain. Further, he was a member of the Indian side which won the 2011 ICC World Cup. However, less than a year after the World Cup, he was dropped from the limited overs sides, due to inconsistency with the bat and the inability to contribute with a second skill either with the ball or in the field. Since then, Pathan has not returned to the international side and it is all but certain that he has played his last match at the highest level.

Much like his younger brother Irfan - in fact, even more so - Yusuf has remained an extremely valuable player in the IPL over the years. He initially made his name with the Rajasthan Royals in the first three seasons, contributing massively to their victory in the inaugural season of the tournament and playing a host of other match-winning innings. After not being retained by the Royals prior to the 2011 edition, he was sold to the Kolkata Knight Riders at the auction for 2.1 million USD, emerging as the second-highest bid of the auction. He would go on to spend seven years with the franchise, playing a big part in their two title victories and winning a few games on his own each season. Ahead of the 2018 edition of the tournament, due to inconsistency in the previous few seasons, Pathan was released by the KKR and sold to the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Now, with his international career virtually over and his IPL stock having rapidly declined, Pathan's career seems to be a story of unfulfilled potential, much like his brother's.

#10 Ajit Agarkar

Ajit Agarkar is one of India's finest limited overs bowlers of all time; however, the right-arm medium-pace bowling all-rounder from Mumbai made virtually contribution to India's victory in this tournament, playing only two games and picking one wicket. In addition to that, he was dropped from the national side after this tournament, and would spend the rest of his playing days playing for Mumbai in domestic cricket and for the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Delhi Daredevils (now called Delhi Capitals) in the IPL.

In 2013, after he had been injury-ridden for the previous few years and been inconsistent with his cricket, Agarkar, one of the unheralded heroes of Indian cricket's rise in the late 90s and early 2000s, decided to call it time on his career and announce his retirement from all forms of cricket. Nowadays, he serves as the Chief Selector for the Mumbai domestic team and makes occasional appearances as an analyst for various television and online outlets.

#11 Piyush Chawla

At the time of the 2007 World T20, Chawla, who did not play a single match in the tournament, was merely 18-years old and widely regarded as the "next big thing" in Indian cricket; however, eleven years on, his career has hardly taken the trajectory which many expected it to take.

Chawla only made a few appearances following the World T20 after which he was dropped from the Indian side in 2008 after a poor Asia Cup, losing his spot in the side to the likes of Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra. However, Chawla made a surprise return to the side for the 2010 World T20 (where he would actually play and make his T20I debut) and the 2011 ICC World Cup, which India would go on to win.

Post the 2011 World Cup, barring a few games in the 2012 World T20 and a one-test comeback later the same year, Chawla has not made any other international appearances and is currently not in the fray for selection to the national side. However, despite this, he has emerged as a canny customer for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL and has put in decent performances in domestic cricket, first for Uttar Pradesh and now for Gujarat.

#12 Joginder Sharma

Most fans know Joginder Sharma as the man who bowled the final delivery of the World T20 final and permanently etched his name into the history books of Indian cricket. However, few will know that Joginder never played another international match.

After the 2007 World T20, due to inconsistent performances in his limited opportunities, he was dropped from the Indian national side and had to go back to domestic cricket, where he turned out for Haryana.

However, despite his inconsistent performances and axe from the Indian side, he was bought by the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings at the inaugural IPL auctions and played for the side for the first three editions of the tournament.

Joginder was offered a job with the Haryana police after the 2007 World T20, and he took it. Over the years, he rose through the ranks and as of 2016, had risen to the position of the Deputy Superintendent of Police, having stopped playing competitive cricket.

#13 Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh was one of the few players belonging to the senior lot of Indian cricket that decided to venture into T20 cricket and play the World T20. After the World T20, until 2011, Harbhajan remained an integral part of Indian sides across all formats and contributed greatly to some of the most important moments in international cricket, including the victory at the 2011 ICC World Cup.

However, within a year of the World Cup win, Bhajji, as he is called, found himself out of the Indian side, largely due to his inconsistency and lack of form. Even though he made comebacks to the national side in 2015 and 2016, these were short-lived and it seems certain that one of India's greatest match-winners of all-time has played his last international match.

He has been an extremely consistent performer in the IPL over the years, turning out for the Mumbai Indians for the first ten editions of the tournament before switching to the Chennai Super Kings in 2018. However, Harbhajan Singh has not played a game of professional cricket since the conclusion of the 2018 IPL and has ventured into TV commentary and analysis. The writing is on the wall: his days as a professional cricket player are numbered.

#14 RP Singh

In the aftermath of the 2007 World T20 (where he was joint-highest second wicket-taker for the tournament), RP Singh emerged as one of India's new pace-bowling stars and entered undoubtedly the best phase of his career, where he would be a relatively consistent figure in the Indian side and win several accolades, perhaps most notably the Purple Cap for the 2009 edition of the IPL.

However, after 2009, due to inconsistency at the international level, RP was dropped from the side and returned only briefly in 2011 as a replacement for Zaheer Khan during the tour of England. Besides that, his career only consisted of toiling away in domestic cricket for Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat and moving from franchise to franchise in the IPL.

The 2016 Ranji Trophy final, which his team, Gujarat, went on to win, would turn out to be his last professional match, and after two years of inactivity, he announced his retirement in September 2018. Despite retiring from professional cricket, he recently made an appearance in the T10 League in the UAE and has also ventured into commentary.

#15 S Sreesanth

Life has taken Sreesanth, the man who took the catch which won India the 2007 World T20 to many places, and he has experienced his immense highs and immense lows. Despite having immense talent, Sreesanth never quite cemented his place in the Indian side, and was constantly in and out between the 2007 World T20 and the 2011 ICC World Cup, being a member of both winning sides.

However, after the 2011 World Cup, Sreesanth fell out of favour with the selectors and was dropped permanently from the Indian side. His last international match came in August 2011, and his last game in professional cricket came in May 2013, after which he was banned for life due to his involvement in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal.

Even though Sreesanth has always maintained that he was innocent in the matter, the investigating authorities found him to be involved, and this involvement had dire consequences for the bowler from Kerala. It not only led to the BCCI disciplinary committee banning him for life (as mentioned before) but it also resulted in Sreesanth becoming extremely unpopular among fans.

Despite several attempts at appealing the life ban that was handed to him, Sreesanth has been unable to return to professional cricket. Instead, he has ventured into the entertainment industry, having made appearances on several reality television shows and is due to make his film debut soon.