“Unhe khoob chidhaya”: Virender Sehwag once revealed how he would tease Sachin Tendulkar for having lifted the World Cup for India before him

During an interaction with actor Aparshakti Khurana for his talk show Cricket Diaries, former India batter Virender Sehwag revealed how there was very little hope from the young, inexperienced Indian side to perform well during the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in the year 2007.

Terming the team’s participation in the tournament as mere formality, he also went on to state how there was very little pressure on the side led by MS Dhoni, with the media too not rooting behind the team to fare well.

However, against all expectations, fans were provided with some precious moments which will never be forgotten for many years to come. Be it Yuvraj Singh’s six Sixes in an Over against Stuart Broad, the first-ever bowl out against Pakistan after an enthralling tied game, or the title winning moment during the final Over versus Pakistan yet again. A young team India had scripted history in South Africa, and which so far remains their only title in the history of T20 World Cups.

Virender Sehwag once revealed how he would tease Sachin Tendulkar for having lifted the World Cup for India before him

Apart from Sehwag, only Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh were the two other senior members in the Indian squad during the 2007 T20 World Cup.

The likes of Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and Sachin Tendulkar had decided not to partake in the tournament, and instead had an opportunity to the youngsters in what was pretty novel format of the game.

In one of the episodes of the Cricket Diaries, Sehwag hilariously revealed how post winning the T20 World Cup he would tease the legendary Sachin Tendulkar for the next four years, for not having been able to win the World Cup badge until they lifted the ODI World Cup at home in 2011.

“Lekin khushi iss baat ki thi, ki hame Sachin Tendulkar se pehle World Championship ka badge mila. Jab tak 2011 me hum jeete nahi na, humne khoob chidhaya. Ki hamare paas vo badge hai world champion ka, aapke paas nahi hai. (We were happy to get the World Champions badge before Sachin Tendulkar did. We taunted him a lot. Until we won in 2011, we taunted him a lot, saying we had the World Cup badge but not him), remarked Sehwag.

Tendulkar finally lifts a World Cup for India in his sixth attempt

It was under MS Dhoni yet again, that team India lifted the ODI format World Cup as well after a 28-year wait, in front of the home crowd by defeating Sri Lanka in the grand finale.

Having represented India during the 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, and 2007 World Cups as well, Tendulkar would finally have the object that his heart most desired in 2011. He would retire from International Cricket two years later in 2013, after serving Indian Cricket for 24 years.