'India Gets The 4th Star, Life Comes Full Circle': Sachin Tendulkar's Classy Tribute to Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid And Backroom Staff

Sachin Tendulkar, himself a world cup winner, called the win a total team effort. (AFP/sachintendulkar)

Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar reckons India’s T20 World Cup triumph will serve as an inspiration to children in the country to achieve their dreams. India defeated South Africa in a pulsating final to win the tournament for the second time in their history.

After posting 176/7 in 20 overs at the Kensington Oval, India limited South Africa to 169/8 to win by seven runs.

Overall, India have now won four world titles including two ODI (1983, 2011) and two T20I (2007, 2024).

“Every star added to the Team India jersey inspires our nation’s starry-eyed children to move one step closer to their dreams. India gets the 4th star, our second in T20WC,” Tendulkar wrote on Instagram.

It was in 2007 when India suffered a shock exit from the first round of ODI World Cup and following which, the seniors stepped away from taking part in the inaugural World T20 later that year.

The World T20 in 2007 turned out to be a momentous moment in Indian cricket history as a certain MS Dhoni was named captain and guided his troops to an unlikely title win in South Africa. Few months after the historical win, BCCI launched the Indian Premier League.

“Life comes full circle for Indian cricket in the West Indies. From our lows in the 2007 ODI World Cup to becoming a cricketing powerhouse and winning the T20WC in 2024. Very happy for my friend Rahul Dravid, who missed out on the 2011 World Cup win but his contribution to this T20 World Cup victory has been immense. I am so so happy for him,” Tendulkar wrote.

Dravid thus bowed out as India head coach in a high.

Tendulkar praised captain Rohit Sharma for his resilience for moving on from the heartbreaking defeat of the 2023 ODI World Cup final.

“What can one say about Rohit Sharma? Superb captaincy! To put the 2023 ODI World Cup loss behind and to keep all our players motivated towards the T20 World Cup is commendable,” he wrote.

Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was the standout performer for India as he delivered consistently including in the final where his game-changing spell turned the tide  in his team’s favour.

“Jasprit Bumrah’s Player of the Tournament award as well as Virat Kohli’s Player of the Match award are both well-deserved. They were just superb when it mattered,” Tendulkar observed.

Tendulkar, winner of the 2011 ODI World Cup, didn’t forget to mention the role of India’s backroom staff and the BCCI in the title win.

“Along with Rahul, Paras Mhambrey and Vikram Rathour also made their international debuts in 1996. It was wonderful to see Team India excel under the guidance of this class of ‘96,” he wrote.

“A total team effort. Hearty congratulations to all the players, coaches, support staff, and BCCI,” he concluded.

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