'What is this stupid game?' Lalit Modi claims he 'begged' Sachin, Dravid to play 2007 T20 World Cup

Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has claimed that many star Indian cricketers were unwilling to play the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, saying he personally approached players during India's tour of England that year and urged them to take part in the tournament. India toured England from July 19 to September 8, 2007, for a three-Test and seven-ODI series, just before the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 began in South Africa on September 11. While senior players such as Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were part of the England tour, they did not feature in India's T20 World Cup squad.

By Jason Griffith for PeeDeeWire

Yahoo Sports reports: Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has claimed that many star Indian cricketers were unwilling to play the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, saying he personally approached players during India's tour of England that year and urged them to take part in the tournament. India toured England from July 19 to September 8, 2007, for a three-Test and seven-ODI series, just before the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 began in South Africa on September 11. While senior players such as Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were part of the England tour, they did not feature in India's T20 World Cup squad.