Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has revealed that several senior Indian cricketers were reluctant to participate in the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, describing the format as a “stupid game” in its early days.
Speaking about the build-up to the historic tournament in South Africa, Modi claimed he personally approached Indian stars including Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid during India’s tour of England in 2007 and urged them to take part in the competition.
“At that time, players were asking, ‘What is this stupid game?’,” Modi reportedly said while recalling the resistance towards T20 cricket in its infancy.
The revelation offers a fascinating glimpse into a period when T20 cricket had not yet gained global popularity. Today, the format dominates world cricket through leagues like the Indian Premier League (IPL), but in 2007, many established players were unconvinced about its future.
Eventually, India travelled to South Africa with a young squad led by MS Dhoni after senior players like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly opted out. Former India team manager Lalchand Rajput had earlier revealed that Dravid encouraged the senior stars to give youngsters an opportunity in the tournament.
That decision turned out to be a defining moment in Indian cricket history.
Against all expectations, Dhoni’s youthful side stunned the cricketing world by winning the inaugural T20 World Cup after defeating Pakistan in a thrilling final. The tournament also marked the rise of future stars like Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa, RP Singh and Joginder Sharma.
India’s triumph transformed the perception of T20 cricket globally and laid the foundation for the launch of the IPL in 2008, which would go on to revolutionize the sport financially and commercially.
Interestingly, despite missing the 2007 T20 World Cup, Sachin Tendulkar later became one of the biggest icons of the IPL with Mumbai Indians, while Rahul Dravid also embraced the format during his later years in franchise cricket.
What was once called a “stupid game” eventually became cricket’s most popular format worldwide.
