‘Pathetic Excuse’ Shastri’s Honest Admission About India’s Flop Show Has Left Fans Fuming

India ended its ICC T20 World Cup 2021 campaign with a convincing nine-wicket win over Namibia but, overall, the tournament was nothing but a massive disappointment for the Men In Blue. 

The Indian players failed to perform to their potential in the opening two matches and by the time they got in the groove, their fate was already sealed.

.@ImRo45 & @klrahul11 score fifties as #TeamIndia seal a clinical -wicket win over Namibia. #T20WorldCup #INDvNAM

Scorecard https://t.co/kTHtj7LdAF pic.twitter.com/4HgbvFAyWJ

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 8, 2021

When asked about what led to India’s poor performance, outgoing head coach Ravi Shastri said that the after spending the last six months in the bio-bubble players were “physically and mentally drained” and that’s the reason why they didn’t even try to win the first two matches against Pakistan and New Zealand.

Set to end his tenure as Head Coach, @RaviShastriOfc heaps praise on #TeamIndia for what it has accomplished over the last few years. #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/9o5MxhkAFw

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 8, 2021

Joining the force with outgoing bowling coach Bharat Arun, Shastri also said that he would have liked a bigger gap between the IPL and the T20 World Cup. The former India all-rounder, who is set to be replaced by batting legend Rahul Dravid, also added that he was not trying to make any excuse but stating the truth

“I am mentally drained but I expect that at my age but these guys are physically and mentally drained. Six months in a bubble…What we would have ideally liked was a bigger gap between the IPL and the T20 World Cup…(because) when the big games come, when pressure hits you, you are not that switched on as you should be,” Shastri said on Star Sports ahead of India’s last group match against Namibia.

© Twitter/Ravi Shastri

“It’s not an excuse. we take defeat and we are not scared of losing. In trying to win, you will lose a game but here we didn’t try to win because that X-factor was missing,” he added.

There’s no denying that spending such a long time in the bio-bubble might have affected players physically as well as mentally but one thing that we can’t digest is when he said that the “X-factor was missing” from the squad and the players even try to win.

As much as we want to sympathise with the team and its players, it’s hard to forget the manner in which our players surrendered in the opening two matches. The players knew what was at stake but they looked disjointed in both those games.

© Twitter/ICC

Shastri might say that he was not trying to make any excuse but fans don’t agree with him at all. The players were so tired they could have withdrawn from the IPL but they didn’t and fans think putting the blame on bubble fatigue is nothing but an excuse, that too a “pathetic” one.

Fans are now questioning Shastri why he did not advise the players to take a break from the IPL and enter the T20 World Cup with a fresh mind.

Ravi Bhai overconfident keep playing injured players and not taking in form players this what happened thank God you are not coach now

— kavin vora (@vorakavin) November 8, 2021

Tournament ke pehle bol dete coach sahab, 2-4 match kam khel lete IPL me apke khiladi. Ab bahane banake kya milna hai

— PK (@DevilOnaTrip) November 8, 2021

So what’s the use of so much bench strength when you keep the same players across all three formats… pathetic excuse and this isn’t the first loss in a big tournament.. infact it’s the worst.

— Rishi (@rishis75) November 8, 2021

Mr shastri. U think u want to give a flimsy excuse after loosing. Then what happened in last three games which u have been winning over scotland , nambia, afghanistan. I think the boys were not showing signs of fatigue.. accept that u guys didnt perform rather giving stupid reply

— Rajesh Pal (@RajeshP50380158) November 9, 2021

We also know that wins and defeats are parts and parcel of any professional sport and even top athletes are bound to make mistakes. Not many fans would have questioned had Kohli and his team challenged the opposition in the opening two encounters but lost by a narrow margin despite giving their all.

As far as the “X-factor was missing” bit is concerned, that can’t be down to IPL and bubble fatigue. It was a collective failure of the selectors and the team management because they made poor choices while picking the squad. Out-of-form and injured players like Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakravarthy were picked while in-form Yuzvendra Chahal was left out of the squad.

© Reuters

So, if there is anyone who deserves to be blamed for the absence of the ‘X-factor’ and team’s unwillingness to compete, it was Shastri and all those who picked this squad not IPL.