Former Indian skipper and batsman Rahul Dravid has always been considered to be one of the most humble, calm and thoughtful people to have played for the Indian cricket team. He spoke very little, tried to be good friends and teammates with everyone and let his bat do the talking for him on the field.

That is probably why even the biggest names from Indian cricket, like current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and âgod of cricketâ Sachin Tendulkar respected his opinion and listened to him.

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During an interview with Sportskeeda on Facebook, Team Indiaâs ex-manager Lalchand Rajput shared one such incident during which the two legends of the game agreed with Dravid, who wanted them to let the younger players play in the first-ever T20 World Cup in 2007.

âYes, it is true,ââRajput said. âRahul Dravid was the captain in England and some players came directly from England to Johannesburg (for the tournament) so they said âletâs give an opportunity to the youngstersâ. But after winning the World Cup they must have repented it when we won the World Cup."

It was one of Sachin Tendulkarâs greatest wishes to win a world cup for the country during his magnificent career. He had been a part of the team for over a decade by then and still looking for that glory.

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When the T20 World Cup took place, nobody expected India to win. Also, not a lot of players took the 20-over format of the game that seriously back then. So, when Dravid approached the senior players, they were fine with letting this one go.

âUltimately, he (Sachin) won in 2011, but he was dying to win that World Cup, and this team won on the first attempt,â Rajput said.

âI was a cricket manager of the 2007 T20 World Cup team. It was a big challenge, because it was a young team. There were a few experienced players, but the real seniors did not play with this team. 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,â Rajput said.

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âOur theme during the World Cup was âtension lene ka nahi, dene ka and Dhoni really believed in the motto that people will talk things, but we need to focus on our strengths, and donât have to worry about what others are saying.

âThis was the first time T20I World Cup was played, and we had a lot of hungry, young fellows, who were looking to make a name for themselves, and get a permanent place for themselves in the Indian Team. It was a good platform.

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âThere were certain senior players who were looking to make a comeback and cement their place in the team. It was a good mixture of senior and junior players. The T20I tournament is for young legs, you got to run around, and energetic, and super fit, and this made the difference in the team.â

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