‘We didn’t try to win’ – Ravi Shastri says ‘physically and mentally drained’ team ‘weren’t switched on’ at T20 World Cup

Outgoing India head coach Ravi Shastri has bemoaned the arduous schedule endured by his team following their early exit from the 2021 T20 World Cup.

India lost both of their first two Super 12 encounters, to Pakistan and New Zealand, and with Pakistan winning all their group games and New Zealand winning all but one, that was enough to consign them to an early exit. It marked the first instance since the 2012 World T20 that India have failed to make the latter stages of an ICC event.

Shastri’s exit from the role of head coach at the conclusion of this tournament has long been confirmed, with Rahul Dravid recently confirmed as his successor. The incumbent hasn’t shied away from making his opinions known as he prepares to leave the stage.

Speaking before India’s final T20 World Cup fixture against Namibia, Shastri spoke of his players being “physically and mentally drained” due to how much cricket they have played, and the bio-secure protocols in place to keep the sport going.

“I am mentally drained, but you expect that at my age,” he told the host broadcaster. “But these guys are physically and mentally drained. Six months in a bubble. What we would have ideally liked would have been a bigger gap between the IPL and the World Cup.”

The IPL concluded just two days before the T20 World Cup began, and followed on almost immediately from India’s lengthy tour of England, which kicked off in June and finished in September.

“It’s when the big games come and when the pressure hits you, you’re not as switched on as you should be,” Shastri continued. “It’s not an excuse. This is not an excuse, because we’re not scared of losing. Because in trying to win, you will lose a game. Here we didn’t try to win, because that x-factor was missing.”

Shastri follows on from bowling coach Bharat Arun in attempting to find the reason for India’s exit. Arun also insisted he wasn’t “trying to give any excuses”, but suggested the toss had been too much of a factor at the competition.

Despite their premature departure from the UAE, it won’t be long until India are in action again, with New Zealand’s tour of the country beginning on Wednesday, November 17, just three days after the T20 World Cup final.

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