By IANS,
London : Former Indian cricket captain Ajit Wadekar says Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s outfit looks tired and jaded, but urged fans to be patient after its ouster from the World Twenty20 championship.
“In Twenty20 cricket anything can happen – one mistake and there’s no chance of recovery,” said Wadekar, who captained the team that beat England in 1971 to register India’s first overseas Test series win.
“We may not be doing that well just now. But we cannot be doing well all the time. Maybe this defeat is the first step to success and going higher and even getting the best rating in the world,” he told IANS Wednesday.
Wadekar, who was launching a book at the Nehru Centre here by Indian photographer Shrenik Sett commemorating India’s 1983 World Cup win, said the current team led by Dhoni appeared to suffer from “too much cricket.”
“Our chaps looked a bit tired. We shouldn’t over-do things – we shouldn’t burn these players out,” said Wadekar, whose comments reflect those India coach Gary Kirsten made recently.
Wadekar also said he had no doubt that the Indian team “missed (opener Virender) Sehwag very much.”
“The opening combination of Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir is tried and tested. Rohit Sharma should go to the middle order,” he said, adding the team could also benefit with the inclusion of an experienced player such as Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid in the middle.
Also present on the occasion were chairman of the selection committee, Kris Srikkanth, selector Raja Venkat, Nehru Centre Director Monica Mehta and a large number of Indian supporters.
Srikkanth described Twenty20 as a “funny game”.
“Two overs this side or that side and anything can happen. So please don’t judge a player or a judge team just on the basis of Twenty20 cricket. Have faith in our team, keep supporting them and keep praying that they win,” Srikkanth said.