Another ICC knockout, another defeat. The template refuses to change for Team India. As the Men in Blue crashed out of the T20 World Cup following a 10-wicket hammering at the hands of England in the semifinal, reactions continue to pour in. More than the loss, it is the margin and manner of defeat that pricks more. On a grand stage like the semifinal, the Indian bowlers simply did not turn up as England’s opening pair of Jos Buttler and Alex Hales ran Rohit Sharma and his team ragged, achieving the 169-run target in only 16 overs.
Following the magnitude of the defeat, there will be questions asked with no guarantee of answers anytime soon. There has already been an outpour of strong reactions over the last 16 hours with the likes of Shoaib Akhtar, Sunil Gavaskar and more chipping in. However, among them, Atul Wassan has made some staggering remarks about the Indian team, taking a shot at their star cricketers.
“The threshold for satisfaction has gotten really low. Despite losing, these players will be superstars. They’ve been rewarded a lot more for a lot less, facile wins. On IPL wins, they have become superstars. If a player performs well in a bilateral series, he is given four contracts. They think that even if they lose the World Cup, nothing is lost. Life goes on,” Wassan said on News Agency.
The former India pacer believes that despite losing World Cups, the current lot of players remain unaffected and that for some of the performers, life will move on. Wassan claims the players have been rewarded far more for their achievements in bilateral series, and so even if they don’t perform, it’s not the end of the world.
“All this fame that surrounds an Indian cricketer should be categorised. You need to understand that a lot of this is due to fans and the media. That we praise them so much for trivial achievements in bilateral series, players feel they have achieved everything. We haven’t won one ICC tournament in 9 years. If you pick the top 15 cricket stars in the world, 10 will be Indians – be it in terms of endorsements, name or fame – but without anything. The trophy cabinet is empty at the end of the day,” Wassan added.