On this day 15 years ago, MS Dhoni-led Team India created history by winning the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup with a win over Pakistan. After India’s below-par run in the 50-over World Cup a few months back, the fans didn’t have many expectations from the team. And given that many seniors were absent, Team India wasn’t the favourite going into the ICC event.
The Men in Blue stunned the fans with their performances as the tournament progressed and in the end, they emerged victorious. India had only played one T20I before T20 WC. Apart from a revamped squad, India also had a new captain in MS Dhoni.
The future ICC Hall of Famer hadn’t captained India in even one game and his brilliance during the tournament stunned many. But Dhoni wouldn’t have led the side had Yuvraj Singh retained his position as the vice-captain.
Speaking to Sports18 a few months back, Yuvraj revealed that Dhoni became captain out of nowhere. The former India all-rounder thought that he was going to lead the side in the 2007 T20 WC.
“I was supposed to be the captain. Then the Greg Chappell incident happened. It had become Chappell or Sachin. I was probably the only player who supported…that I support my teammate. And there were a lot of people in the…Some of the BCCI officials did not like that. It was said that they should make anybody the captain but not myself. This is what I heard,” Yuvraj told Sports18.
“I am not sure how true it is. Suddenly from vice-captaincy I was removed. Sehwag was not there in the team. So, out of nowhere, Mahi (MS Dhoni) became captain for the 2007 T20 World Cup. I thought I was going to be the captain.”
Yuvraj remained part of the leadership group and assisted Dhoni in T20 WC. But he never captained Team India during his illustrious career.
Yuvraj played a key role during the tournament and scored half-centuries in the wins over England and Australia. In the fixture against England, Yuvraj became the first batsman in the history of T20I cricket to slam 6 back-to-back sixes. Dhoni became India’s permanent captain after the WC and led the team in the next 5 T20 WCs.
