T20 World Cup 2022: India's "golden generation" after winning the first Cup in 2007

India sent a young team to South Africa, bereft of stalwarts such as Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. T20s, an unknown format at the international level at the time, was seen as a young man's game. 

The team was led by MS Dhoni, who had never captained India until that point, with Yuvraj Singh, his deputy. And several players on that side ended up becoming Indian cricketing legends. 

But not everyone's career panned out in the same way. Here, we analyse how it is that the 15-member squad from 2007 would go on to fare in their respective careers. 

We are classifying the players into three categories – Indian cricket legends, the ones who had solid careers and the ones whose time at the top was relatively short. 

The legends

This one is an easy pick, as quite a few legendary careers were already on their way or began their path in this tournament. 

MS Dhoni is an obvious first choice here. He went on to become not only one of the best finishers in the modern game but also one of India's finest wicketkeeper-batsmen ever. 

He would also become India's most successful white-ball skipper, winning the ICC World Cup (2011) and the ICC Champions Trophy (2013) in successive years. 

Yuvraj Singh was another who established himself as a top cricketer. His six sixes off Stuart Broad remain the stuff of legend, and he was a vital part of the 2011 World Cup-winning side too. That he fought cancer and returned to the game after that makes him an even bigger legend. 

There was also Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, the Delhi boys who established themselves as regulars in the India batting order. 

Both didn't entirely end their careers the way they would have liked, but that takes nothing away from their respective legacies. 

Harbhajan Singh was already an established star at that point, but being a crucial part of India's World Cup-winning teams helped. 

And there was also a young Rohit Sharma, who made a 50 in a crunch match against South Africa. He is now set to lead India in the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia, having established himself as one of the best white-ball batters India has ever produced – besides also a five-time IPL-winning captain. 

The steady ones

This category includes quite a few names who did achieve a fair bit but whose careers didn't quite hit the heights expected. 

In that sense, the Pathan brothers Irfan and Yusuf fit the bill. Both had their moments in the sun and played their parts in the win, but both found themselves in and out of the team more often than not. 

Yusuf, however, became a three-time IPL champion (2008, 2012, 2014) after that, even if his India caps were severely limited. 

Ajit Agarkar was one of the more experienced members of that side, but his career also waned down, thanks in no small part to poor and inconsistent form. 

Piyush Chawla had his time to shine but was never a regular – even though he was part of the 2011 World Cup winning side. He, too, established himself as a valuable IPL player, winning the title twice in his career. 

Dinesh Karthik was another strange one. Forever the understudy to Dhoni, he did nevertheless play a part – and is still going strong! 

The disappointments

Joginder Sharma is best remembered for taking the wicket that clinched India's World T20. But beyond that, he did little of note, and his international career was relatively short. 

The same can be said of RP Singh. He was a key bowler for India in the World Cup but never became a consistent part of the side. 

Sreesanth was an anomaly, someone given chances but whose career got ruined thanks to the IPL spot-fixing scandal. 

There was also Robin Uthappa, who many had high hopes from but who, due to some reason or the other, never became a consistent member of the XI. 

Nevertheless, it is safe to say that their names will forever be etched in the history of Indian cricket as the country's first – and so far only – winners of the T20 World Cup.