Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has stated that many senior Indian cricketers were hesitant to join the first ICC T20 World Cup in 2007. Modi explained that he approached players during India’s tour of England that year, encouraging them to participate in the tournament.
During the tour, India played a three-match Test series and a seven-match ODI series with key players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly. None of these players participated in the inaugural T20 World Cup held in South Africa. Instead, a younger team led by MS Dhoni was selected, which included players like Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Gautam Gambhir, and RP Singh.
Modi remarked that many established players were skeptical about the new format and preferred to head home after their lengthy tour. He recalled that several cricketers viewed T20 Cricket as just a fad and chose to spend time with their families instead of joining the competition.
“I spoke to every player in the dressing room in England in 2007. I asked them to play the T20. They said, ‘Lalit, are you joking? What is this stupid game? We don’t want to play it.’ Everyone told me they were tired and wanted to be with their families. Now, would the public, players, or administrators accept a player not participating in the World Cup? There would be an uproar,” Modi said, as quoted by the Times of India.
He highlighted that the BCCI decided to send a young and mostly inexperienced team to the tournament instead of the star players. Modi argued that this choice would be hard to imagine today, questioning whether fans, players, or administrators would tolerate India sending a second-string team to a World Cup. India ended up winning the inaugural T20 World Cup under Dhoni’s leadership, a victory that significantly boosted the format’s popularity worldwide.
“The BCCI didn’t send the main team to South Africa for the T20 World Cup. They opted for a second team. ‘Let’s send our new team under Mahendra Singh Dhoni.’ Completely raw. Completely inexperienced. The Tendulkars, the Dravids, the Sourav Gangulys; none of them played in the T20 World Cup,” Modi stated.
“Would you accept that today? If the Indian team were to enter any World Cup, would anyone accept a B team? Would the public accept a B team? Would the board?” he added.