2007 T20 World Cup Victory an Unforgettable Experience for Cricketers
Reportedly with memories of India's 2007 T20 World Cup triumph still remains fresh in the memories of Indian cricket fans. A young team led by MS Dhoni dominated the inaugural edition of the tournament and clinched the title in South Africa. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh and Harbhajan singh stepped up as the young team rallied against odds to win the coveted trophy.
Not much was expected of India in the absence of their Big 3. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly decided against playing the T20 World Cup and India was led by Dhoni for the first time in the tournament in South Africa. As it turns out, it was a conscious decision from Dravid, the then India captain in the limited-overs format, as he requested Ganguly and Tendulkar to miss the T20 World Cup in 2007 in a bid to give youngsters an opportunity to shine at the highest level.
Lalchand Rajput, who was the manager of the team during the T20 World Cup, revealed the trio decided to skip the T20 World Cup after their tour of England in 2007 and that the trio would have repented their decision, given India went on to win the title. "Rahul Dravid was the captain in England and some players came directly from England to Johannesburg [for the T20 World Cup] so they said 'let's give an opportunity to the youngsters'. But after winning the World Cup they must have repented it when we won the World Cup.