World Cup 2007 debacle rankles Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar has rated the first-round exit in the 2007 World Cup as the worst moment of his professional career, and said the debacle was because the batting order "was not right".

India crashed out after defeats to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the opening phase of the tournament, which took place at the end of Greg Chappell's tumultuous two years as coach.

"I felt our batting order was not right," Tendulkar told the news channel Times Now. He has usually preferred to open the batting in one-dayers but was sent in at No. 4 in that World Cup. "It was a big tournament and we had a fantastic team. Everything looked well set but I felt our batting order was not right. This was one of the reasons (behind India's early ouster)."

He also spoke about his two stints as national captain, which are widely viewed as disappointing. "No regrets at all. Captaining is not about an individual but a team," he said. "Of course it was painful whenever the team lost but losing the 2007 World Cup was more disappointing."

Tendulkar, who will complete 20 years in international cricket in four days' time, said he was targeting the 2011 World Cup title. "Touch wood, my body is holding up nicely. Of course I'm looking forward to the 2011 World Cup and by God's grace we should be able to achieve what we want to achieve."