Gary Kirsten asked Indian team to not read newspapers during 2011 World Cup, says Harbhajan Singh

Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh has advised the Indian cricket team to not touch their phones for the next two months.

Harbhajan has said that the pressure will be immense on the Indian team due to the ODI World Cup at home, and he hoped that the Indian cricketers would stay away from the same.

Harbhajan Singh said that back in the 2011 campaign, India kept away the media pressure by not reading newspapers during the tournament.

"Those times (2011) were different. You could get away by not reading newspapers. Now, everything is there on social media. Gary Kirsten had set up a rule and asked us not to read newspapers. If you don't perform well on a particular day, you will see what people will do on social media. I would advise players to stay away from social media. Don't see your phones for the next two months," he told India Today on Wednesday. 

India defeated Sri Lanka in the final of the ODI World Cup 2011 in a tremendous final match in Mumbai. The Indian team, led by Captain MS Dhoni, was a formidable force with a star-studded batting line-up including Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, and Virat Kohli. The tournament saw some exceptional performances from these players, with Tendulkar scoring 482 runs, making him the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament.

India's campaign started with an 87-run win against Bangladesh, setting the tone for the rest of the tournament. The team's only loss came against South Africa, but they bounced back to secure their place in the quarterfinals. In the final match against Sri Lanka, India emerged victorious, winning by six wickets. This marked India's second World Cup title, the first being in 1983.

MS Dhoni's unbeaten innings of 91 runs in the final match earned him the title of 'Man of the Match'. His final shot, a massive six, sealed India's victory and has since become an iconic moment in cricket history. Yuvraj Singh, who scored 362 runs and took 15 wickets, was named 'Man of the Tournament' for his all-round performance. This victory was particularly significant as it was the first time a host nation had won the World Cup on home soil.

India has not reached a final of the ICC ODI World Cup since and the hype has peaked ahead of the home tournament. Former India batter Sunil Gavaskar spoke about the ticket pressure on players and said that there was no way to avoid that.

"You cannot avoid pressure. When you order room service, they might ask for tickets. Someone might ask you about a hundred in the next game. Block yourself from everything which is not going to be easy. Sachin Tendulkar had headphones on so he could not hear anyone. They would all be wishing him but the chatter of a hundred could add to the pressure. It's not easy to do that in your room but you can block yourself when you go out," said Sunil Gavaskar in the same event," Gavaskar said in the same event.