By IANS,
Chennai : National cricket selection committee chairman Krishnamachari Srikkanth Sunday ruled out fatigue behind India’s dismal performance against England and said “nobody is to be blamed” for it.
India lost their World No.1 ranking to England Saturday after a crushing third Test loss at Edgbaston by an innings and 242 runs. It was below par performance in the Test series by India, who now face the prospect of a 4-0 whitewash.
Critics have blamed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the players’ strenuous schedules, which resulted in injuries and fatigue.
Srikkanth, however, said the team is just going through a bad phase.
“If you see the FTP, all countries are playing cricket 365 days a year whether England or Australia. The fact is that cricket is being played the whole year in whatever format – Test, ODI or Twenty20. I don’t think that it is the fatigue behind India’s performance in England,” Srikkanth said.
“We have to accept that England were the better side and they won the series. Batting did not click for us. In the Indian side, if batting clicks everything clicks. We also did not do well in bowling and fielding. England bowling attack is ideally suited for the conditions. Their three pacers were able to extract the maximum from the pitches which suited them more than our players,” he said.
“Let us not indulge in the blame game. Nobody is to be blamed and it’s not the time for that. It is just that we are going through a bad phase,” he said.
Srikkanth was confident India will soon regain its top position.
“Our top five batsmen did not perform in the series so far. The same bunch of cricketers have done well in last couple of years and defeated South Africa in South Africa,” said Srikkanth.
“We will always strive to be number one but at times it is difficult to remain at the top. We have to accept facts and take corrective measures to ensure India is back on top again. I am confident that we will regain our position at the top in short time.”