Fiery Response of Ravichandran Ashwin As Michael Vaughan Brands Team India ‘Underachieving Side'
The tour of the Indian cricket team to South Africa didn't produce the sort of result the team was hoping for, as Rohit Sharma's side lost the first Test by a huge margin, squandering a big opportunity to win a series in South Africa. India's poor show in the Test series opener prompted the former England captain to brand the team one of the most 'underachieving' in world cricket. Vaughan's statement even made some former Indian cricketers echo his comments, but veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin isn't in agreement.
Ashwin, in a video on his YouTube channel, issued a fiery response, saying such a comment ‘made him laugh' considering how well India has done in world cricket, especially in the Test format.
Ashwin said, "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."
“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."
He also said, “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.”