“We Made Gary Kirsten A Big Name By Winning The 2011 World Cup”: Virender Sehwag | Cricket News

The much-awaited schedule for the ICC World Cup 2023 was announced on Tuesday with the defending champions England taking on New Zealand in the opening match on October 5 in Ahmedabad. Team India will open their campaign against Australia on October 8 in Chennai and the much-awaited clash against the arch-rivals Pakistan will be played on October 15 in Ahmedabad. The Rohit Sharma-led side will look to repeat the 2011 triumph and end their decade-long ICC trophy drought. Speaking about the showcase event, former India opener Virender Sehwag stated that it’s time for all the players to stand up and make the country proud.

Sehwag backed head coach Rahul Dravid for India’s loss at the World Test Championship against Australia and stated that it’s a player’s responsibility to perform on the field. He went on to say that during the 2011 World Cup, it was the contribution of the Indian players that made coach Gary Kirsten a big name.

“Once a player is out on the field then the pride of the coach is in the hands of that player. If the player performs, then everyone would praise the coach but if the players fails then the coach gets criticised. We reached the World Test Championship final and nobody is talking that it was our second consecutive appearance at such a big tournament. Everyone is just talking about our loss. Fingers are being raised on Rahul Dravid’s role as a coach. But at the end of the day, he is not playing and a player’s performance would make Dravid’s name,” said Sehwag during Star Sports’ ICC World Cup Schedule announcement event.

“Coach never makes a player’s name but a player always makes a coach. Just like we made Gary Kirsten a big name by winning the 2011 World Cup. Gary went to many places and coached many teams but could not win a single tournament. He just won the IPL 2022 in Ahmedabad and even in that it was Ashish Nehra, who was taking more load than Gary,” he added.

IPL 2022 was won by Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad after they defeated Rajasthan Royals. Former India pacer Ashish Nehra is the head coach of Gujarat while Gary Kirsten is the batting coach.

Notably, Gary was appointed India’s head coach back in 2008 and his tenure in the role ended with India’s triumph over Sri Lanka in the summit clash of the 2011 ODI World Cup.

Talking the ODI World Cupm2023, a total of 10 teams will feature in what will be the biggest Cricket World Cup ever, to be played across 10 venues from 5 October to 19 November, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting the tournament opener and the final.