For someone who has always drawn inspiration from achievers, Rahul Dravid eulogising India’s Twenty20 triumph as an inspirational one for the younger generation was only to be expected.

The former India captain felt India's victory in the T20 World Cup came at the right time to inspire the new generation to perform and excel.

"Without heroes, without performances, it’s never possible to inspire the next generation to perform," Dravid said at a felicitation function organised by a footwear company for its ambassadors who were part of the winning Indian team.

“When India won the World Cup (in 1983), I was about 10 and for cricketers of my generation that was a huge inspiration to take up the game. We grew up watching the images of Kapil Dev lifting the World Cup,” he said adding that India’s performance, the scenes in South Africa and in Mumbai on the team’s arrival would inspire chirdren in India to perform.

"These are the images that will carry forward for the next generation," he stated. Lauding the efforts of Dhoni’s boys, Dravid said: “Whenever there was a critical moment, one or the other player stood up and performed. The team played with energy and great intensity.”