RAHUL DRAVID ASKED SACHIN TENDULKAR, SOURAV GANGULY TO NOT PLAY 2007 T20 WORLD CUP: LALCHAND RAJPUT

The 2007 T20 World Cup would hold a special place in the hearts of Indian cricket fans. A young team including the likes of Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa, Yousuf Pathan and Joginder Sharma led by MS Dhoni beat arch-rivals Pakistan in the final to claim the trophy. The team did not have legendary batsmen Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

In a recent interaction with Sportskeeda, Lalchand Rajput, then team manager of the Indian team, revealed that it was Rahul Dravid who asked Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to skip the 2007 T20 World Cup.

Rajput said it was a big challenge because it was a young team without the real seniors. "It was a real opportunity for me as I was the coach for the first time, MS Dhoni was the captain for the first time. So, we really gelled well."

"As a team, it is important that the atmosphere in the dressing room is very good. Our theme during the World Cup was 'Don't take tension, give tension'. Dhoni was of the opinion that people will talk things, but we have to focus on our strengths instead of worrying about what others are saying," Rajput said.

Rajput went on to explain how that win changed the entire perspective of Indian cricket. "None expected us to win. We had not practised much like other teams. But we had the hunger. We had a lot of young players who were looking to make a name for themselves thereby cementing their spot in Indian team."