World Cup History: India's 1996 World Cup semi-final XI - Where are they now?
The sixth edition of the cricket’s biggest tournament which is the World Cup was hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1996. There were 12 teams who took part in the competition with 37 matches played including the semis and the final. The format for this edition had two groups with six teams each. The top four teams from both the groups made it to the quarter-final.
Sri Lanka qualified for the quarter-finals even before playing a match as the Australian team and the West Indies team raised concerns over security threats. On the other hand, India and Pakistan faced off in the quarters with India emerging victorious setting up the semi-finals against Sri Lanka. But India’s dream was crushed when they lost heavily in the semis.
On reaching the final, Sri Lanka faced the mighty Aussies. To everyone’s surprise, Sri Lanka defeated the favorites to win their only World Cup till date. Even though India’s campaign ended in the semi-final, the batting and the bowling charts were led by Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble respectively.
Let us find out as to what the Indian players from that semi-final are doing now.
#1 Sachin Tendulkar and Navjot Singh Sidhu:
After a fantastic debut in 1992 World Cup, Sachin Tendulkar was at his imperious best in the 1996 World Cup. He started off the tournament with a century against Kenya, following up with a half-century against West Indies that helped the team to make it to the quarter-finals. In the all-important semis against Sri Lanka, he got the team to a good start scoring 65 runs after which the team suffered an unusual collapse.
He had an illustrious career that ended in 2013 after which he has assumed various positions. He is one of the members of the Cricket Advisory Committee and has also been an "icon" for Mumbai Indians.
On the other hand, Navjot Singh Sidhu returned to the squad in the 1996 World Cup. He was an explosive opening batsman who played two match-winning knocks against Zimbabwe and Pakistan. After a decent cricketing career, he was seen as a commentator and a judge in comedy shows. Besides, he is a full-time politician who is serving as a minister in the Punjab government.
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