Sachin Tendulkar
2011–12: World Cup win and final years

From February to April, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka hosted the 2011 World Cup. Amassing 482 runs at an average of 53.55 including two centuries, Tendulkar was India's leading run-scorer for the tournament; only Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka scored more runs in the 2011 tournament, and was named in the ICC "Team of the Tournament". India defeated Sri Lanka in the final. Shortly after the victory, Tendulkar commented that "Winning the World Cup is the proudest moment of my life.... I couldn't control my tears of joy."

India were due to tour the West Indies in June, although Tendulkar chose not to participate. He returned to the squad in July for India's tour of England. Throughout the tour there was much hype in the media about whether Tendulkar would reach his 100th century in international cricket (Test and ODIs combined). However, his highest score in the Tests was 91; Tendulkar averaged 34.12 in the series as England won 4–0 as they deposed India as the No. 1 ranked Test side. The injury Tendulkar sustained to his right foot in 2001 flared up and as a result he was ruled out of the ODI series that followed. Tendulkar created another record on 8 November 2011 when he became the first cricketer to score 15,000 runs in Test cricket, during the opening Test match against the West Indies at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi. For his performances in 2011, he was named in the World Test XI by the ICC.

Ian Chappell was not happy with Tendulkar's performance after India's tour of Australia. He says that Tendulkar's quest for his 100th hundred has proved to be a hurdle for the entire team and has hampered their performance on the Tour of Australia. Former India World Cup winning captain and all-rounder Kapil Dev has also voiced his opinion that Tendulkar should have retired from ODI's after the World Cup. Former Australian fast bowler, Geoff Lawson, has said that Tendulkar has the right to decide when to quit although he adds that Tendulkar should not delay it for too long. The selection committee of BCCI expectedly included Tendulkar in the national Test squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand commencing in August 2012.
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