Tendulkar labels WC 2007 as the ‘lowest phase’

The Indian cricket icon says the team made changes and started thinking afresh after the first round exit; in 2011, he was a part of the winning squad led by M.S. Dhoni.

Dilhara Fernando celebrates the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar in the group match against India in World Cup 2007.

Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday said that the phase around the 2007 World Cup was the lowest ebb for Indian cricket.

Tendulkar said the Indian cricket team witnessed a lot of changes after the first round exit from the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies and the move eventually reaped huge dividends.

“I think 2006-07 we were possibly our lowest (phase). We didn’t qualify for the Super 8 stage of the 2007 World Cup.

But we got back from there and started thinking fresh, we started moving in a new direction,” the right-handed batsman recalled at a programme here.

“We had to make a lot of changes. And once we had planned what we had to achieve as a team, we were committed to it and the results followed,” he added.

In the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the Rahul Dravid-led India lost to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in group stages to crash out in the opening round.

“We had to change a lot of things. Whether they were right or wrong we didn’t know. The change did not happen overnight. We had to wait for results. In fact, it took me 21 years of my career to lift that beautiful World Cup trophy,” said Tendulkar.

Tendulkar was part of the Indian squad which lifted the 2011 World Cup under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.