Rahul Dravid asked Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar to skip 2007 T20 World Cup to give chance to youngsters

Former Indian team manager Lalchand Rajput has revealed that it was Rahul Dravid who asked Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to skip 2007 T20 World Cup. Former India skipper MS Dhoni led a young side to the 2007 T20 World Cup win, months after the Indian cricket team suffered a heartbreaking exit from the 50-over World Cup. What made that T20 World Cup win special was the fact that India emerged victorious without the presence of top batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly. At that time, it was thought that the senior players wanted to give youngsters chance to play the T20 World Cup. But, the then team manager Lalchand Rajput told Sportskeeda that the situation was a bit different. [caption id=“attachment_8470531” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] File image of Rahul Dravid. AFP[/caption] Rajput said that it was Dravid who convinced Tendulkar and Ganguly to not play the 2007 T20 World Cup. Dravid had captained the team in 50-over World Cup. On being asked whether it was Dravid who asked Ganguly and Tendulkar to step back and give chance to youngsters in the T20 World Cup, Rajput said, “Yes, it is true (Rahul Dravid asking Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to skip 2007 T20 World Cup). 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.” The former manager added that the seniors must have repented it after the team registered a comprehensive victory and lifted the trophy. He said, “Sachin always kept on telling me that I am playing for so many years and I have still not won the World Cup.” Speaking on Dhoni, Rajput said the skipper was always very calm during the tournament and used to think two steps ahead of the opponent. The former manager even called Dhoni a mixture of Ganguly and Dravid. The Men in Blue got the better of their arch-rivals Pakistan in the final to win the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup. Young players like Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan and Joginder Sharma got the chance to play the tournament because of the absence of Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly.