Former Chairman of IPL Lalit Modi He has claimed that many star Indian cricketers were not ready to play the inaugural ICCT Twenty World Cup in 2007, saying that he personally approached the players during India’s tour of England that year and urged them to participate in the tournament.Just before the opening of the inaugural ICC World T20 in South Africa on 11 September, India toured England from 19 July to 8 September 2007, for a series of three Tests and seven ODIs. While senior players like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were part of the England tour, they did not feature in India’s T20 World Cup. The team was led by MS Dhoni and included players like Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, RP Singh and Irfan Pathan. In an interview to news agency ANI, Modi said that many players have rejected the new format and are not interested in extending their stay in the tournament after a long tour.“I went to every player in the England dressing room when India was touring in 2007. I went and I said, ‘Please, I request you to play T20.’ He said, ‘Lalat, are you joking? What stupid game is this? We don’t want to play it.’ That’s what everyone told me in the dressing room. ‘Oh, we’ve had a long trip. We want to be with our families.’ Now, will the people, number one, players, number two, administrators, number three, accept a player not to play the World Cup? There will be an uproar,” he said.Modi also said that the BCCI chose to send a young team to the tournament instead of its established stars. He pointed out that such a move would be difficult to imagine in the current cricketing scenario.“BCCI didn’t even send the main team, the Indian team, to South Africa to play the World Cup T20. They sent another team. ‘Let’s not even send the Indian team. Let’s have our new team under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.’ Totally raw. Totally green. Tendulkar, Dravid, Sourav Ganguly; None of them have played T20 World Cup. Will you accept it today? Today if the Indian team is to go to the World Cup, any World Cup, would you accept the B team? Will the public accept the B team? Will the board accept the B team?” He added.According to Modi, T20 cricket initially struggled to gain traction in India because broadcasters and advertisers did not see the value of the format.He said, “No one believed in T20 cricket in India. If there are no eyeballs, there are no advertising dollars. There are no advertising dollars, no subscriptions. If someone is watching, there will be money. If someone is not watching, there will be no money. Today, what catches the eye will get money from advertisers.”Modi further claimed that the inaugural T20 World Cup did not generate significant viewership until Yuvraj Singh hit six sixes in an over against England. He said the moment helped boost interest in the tournament and played a role in changing perceptions about the format.“The T20 World Cup in South Africa had no ratings until Yuvraj Singh hit six sixes. Until the day I organized it, that’s all. I just said whoever hits six sixes in an over or takes six wickets, I’ll give you a Porsche. I was trying to do something when nobody wanted to do it.” I said I tried to work around the world.
