When former PM Manmohan Singh welcomed MS Dhoni-led India post 2007 T20 WC win

Former PM Manmohan Singh with MS Dhoni on October 30 in 2007 (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had a significant and fascinating link to MS Dhoni's three ICC trophy victories. During his tenure, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) proudly added three major ICC trophies to its cabinet, marking a golden era for Indian cricket.

The era of MS Dhoni began in earnest with India's triumph in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. Despite the team's youthful and inexperienced composition, very few believed India could clinch the title. However, against all odds, India emerged victorious in the tournament, etching their name in cricketing history.

Following the team's return to India with the prestigious T20 World Cup trophy, Singh took the time to personally meet the players and congratulate them on their heroic and iconic achievement.

September 24, 2007, is a date etched forever in the minds of cricket enthusiasts across the globe. On this day, India defeated their arch-rivals Pakistan by a mere 5 runs to secure their first-ever T20 World Cup title. This win also made India the first nation to hold both the ODI World Cup and the T20 World Cup, further cementing their place in the annals of cricketing history.

Meanwhile, the Indian men's and women's cricket teams sported black armbands in their respective matches on Friday to honour Singh on Friday, who died in New Delhi.

Singh, a two-time former prime minister from 2004 to 2014, died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Thursday after losing consciousness at his home owing to age-related ailments. He was 92.

The men's team, led by Rohit Sharma, is playing the Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne.

The women's side, on the other hand, is facing West Indies in the third and final ODI in Vadodara.

"The Indian team is wearing black arm bands as a mark of respect in the memory of former PM Dr Manmohan Singh, who passed away," the BCCI said in a statement.

Singh, also a renowned economist, was the architect and the brainchild of economic reforms in 1991 that pulled India from the brink of bankruptcy and ushered in an era of economic liberalisation that is widely believed to have changed the course of India's economic trajectory.