“It has been a terribly disappointing Test series.” That is how Indian team manager Nandlal Shivlal Yadav summed up the disastrous performance of the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led cricket team in Australia after the 0-4 drubbing in the four-Test series.
“We clearly lacked the desired discipline in all departments of the game. Well noone ever thought it would be such a poor showing,” Shivlal said in an exclusive chat with The Hindu at the end of the series.
“It is unfair to blame any one or even a couple of players. On the whole it was a collective failure, though the bowlers did a remarkable job in the first Test in Melbourne,” the former India off-spinner said.
“Essentially, if only we had won the first Test in Melbourne it would have been, perhaps, a totally different story. After that defeat, the momentum shifted dramatically in Australia's favour,” he pointed out.
Shivlal refused to engage himself in the debate as whether it is time for the seniors in the team to be replaced. “It is not my job. And, the next Test series is only after seven months and the selectors will definitely take a critical look at the performances of all players on this tour and not just handpick one or two,” he felt.
“Well, if it comes to dropping seniors, it cannot be only one or two players who should be made the scapegoats,” he added.
“I don't think the morale was down at any point of time in the Test series. It was only a question of our inability to put in place all that was planned off the field. We lacked the consistency and the discipline,” Shivlal said.
On the other hand, the Indian manager was all praise for the Michael Clarke-led Australians. “They were very positive in every aspect of the game. The beauty is their collective effort which ensured that the pressure was on the Indian team right through the series,” Shivlal said.
“The way the great Ricky Ponting silenced the critics when there was a talk that the first Test in Melbourne itself could well be his farewell Test was something special. He showed in his own style why he is such a great player,” Shivlal remarked. “Ponting and Mike Hussey were a huge source of inspiration for the way they fought back to be the key performers in the Test series,” added Shivlal, who is also the BCCI vice-president.
On the Australian bowling attack, Shivlal, who was the manager of the Indian team on the tour Down Under earlier, also stressed that this is the best attack for the discipline it showed. “They never gave away easy runs and bowled to their strengths and not to the batsmen's strong-points. The pressure was always there from both ends,” he explained. “It was obvious that they had a plan for each of the Indian batsmen and also for the bowlers,” he concluded.
