India's 2007 WC squad was better than 2003 & 2011: Virender Sehwag

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag was part of all three World Cups from 2003 to 2011.

Winning an ICC trophy will be India's first goal in 2023. They have two shots to fulfill this goal. India will face Australia in a high-profile World Test Championship 2023 final next week in England. Then, India will host the 2023 ODI World Cup and can win the mega-event at home. The Men in Blue won the World Cup in 2011 under MS Dhoni, when India co-hosted the tournament. But since 2013, Team India haven't won any major ICC tournaments.

Though they have finished in semis and finals but yet to get their hands on the ICC titles in last decade. The Men in Blue always enter any ODI World Cup as one of the favorites, but they have only won one edition in 2011. They ended the 2003 edition as runners-up. But the 2007 event was just a nightmare for the Indians. They suffered a humiliating exit from the group stage and were eliminated after losing to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. However, former Indian opener Virender Sehwag feels that the Indian team in the 2007 World Cup was the best in the world at the time.

"Our team in 2007 was the best team in the world"- Virender Sehwag on India's unforgettable 2007 WC performance

The group exit of the Indian team from the 2007 edition drew flak for the team and players. Some of the fans also burned images of the Indian players in anger and protest. Sehwag feels that the team that went to West Indies for the marquee event in 2007 was the best. He also said that that team was even better than the teams India had in the 2003 and 2011 editions. The Indian squad in the 2007 WC had the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid (C), Anil Kumble, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, and many more stars.

But they ended up losing two out of three games and were disqualified. The only win India had in the tournanment came against Bermuda. In a discussion with Gaurav Kapur on Breakfast with Champions, Sehwag shed light on India's horrible campaign. He said, "2007 hurt more. Our team in 2007 was the best team in the world at the time. On paper, you won't find a better team than that, even before or after. In 2003, we lost the final, in 2011, we won, but we didn't have such big names ever. We lost 2 matches, won 1 and that too against Bermuda."

Further, he added that everyone was confident that they would move on to the next round, but the tournament ended very early for them. Sehwag also revealed that after an early exit, the team didn't have a ticket to come back home and had to stay in the hotel for an extra two days. Though India won the next edition in 2011 and will look to repeat that feat in 2023 at home.