Vaughan, in a recent panel discussion on Fox Sports, had expressed his belief that the Indian cricket team, given their available resources, should have attained greater success on the field, especially in ICC events.
“They haven’t won much in recent times. I think they are (an underachieving side). They don’t win anything. When was the last time they won something? With all the talent they have, all the skill-set (they should have achieved more,” Vaughan had said.To this Ashwin, on his Youtube channel, decided to give an apt reply to Vaughan.
“Michael Vaughan made a statement after the first Test that India is an underachieving team. Yes, we haven’t won ICC trophies for years. We call ourselves the powerhouses of the game. But the Test team has been one of the best traveling teams in the vicinity. We have seen many great results,” Ashwin said in response.
“After he said that, so many experts from our own country started questioning if India is an underachieving team. Frankly, it made me laugh. Picture yourself. Just reverse the situation. SA batted first in this Test after winning the toss. If SA had batted first after winning the toss in Centurion, wasn’t there a chance they could have gotten all out by 65? Even India was staring at the barrel at 20/3, thanks to Virat and Shreyas’ partnership from there to save us.”
“So, both cricket and Test cricket are differentiated by fine margins. In a country like India, where we talk cricket in every nook and cranny and consider the sport a religion, I feel we criticize and nitpick too much and get into unnecessary details. I think these are blinding us,” said Ashwin.
Ashwin also said that despite India’s back-to-back losses in two World Test Championship finals, the team has performed admirably in away assignments within the longest format of the game.
“What we need to understand is that it is still a sport. The fact is that a quality cricket team with good mental fortitude and mental skills can make a comeback from wherever they are, and this Indian team has time and again proved it. Yes, we lost two WTC finals. I accept it wholeheartedly. But in the case of Test series, a comeback is always possible.”
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India lost a big opportunity to win their first-ever Test series in South Africa.
They suffered a humiliating an innings and 32 runs defeat in the opening Test in Centurion and then went on to win the second Test by seven wickets to draw the two-match series 1-1.
