PERTH: Senior players Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid on Wednesday rubbished reports of infighting among Indian players and any rift between vice-captain and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
“When teams start losing then these kind of things come, but there is nothing true in that. We are playing as a team and we are fine,” Sehwag was quoted as saying by The Age.
“I can’t talk about anything else because there are rules, but you asked me about this and I can say it is rubbish. We are as a unit and we are carrying on for the next Test,” the star opener said.
Sehwag has been at the heart of rumours of a fractured dressing room after India’s capitulation to Australia in the first two Tests.
Earlier, in the day when Dravid spoke to mediapersons, he also termed the reports as baseless. “When you do badly, suddenly everything is seen as wrong with the team. There is no truth (in Sehwag vs Dhoni reports) to those matters. As I said, the spirit of the team is really good,” Dravid said.
There’s been criticism all around with the go-karting session of Indians drawing extreme response from Indian media and Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has added his bit by stating that the Indians are mentally the most fragile team in international circuit.
“One of the good things about travelling abroad is you are in a bit of a cocoon. You don’t gauge what’s happening back home. There’s a sense of disappoint with the results so far, we would certainly like to do better but the spirit of the team is very good,” he said.
Dravid also seemed unperturbed about Haddin’s comments.
“We haven’t bothered (with Haddin comments) really. There are five days of important cricket to worry about and there is no time about anything else to be honest.
“You don’t need anyone’s comment to motivate yourself. We are not even bothered” he added.
Meanwhile, with the team morale hit by back-to-back defeats, Dravid is anxious that the ongoing tour of Australia doesn’t turn out to be a repeat of England last year when his team lost all the four Tests and also drew a blank in the one-day series.
“It’s important we don’t go down the same route. Hope we can fight back and play better cricket. We had our moment in Melbourne…we need to take heart from it. It’s important for us we don’t go down the route of England,” Dravid told media persons.
With talks in media centering about his bowled dismissals; the growing pause on Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th international century and calls for VVS Laxman’s head by past cricketers, India’s revival at the moment, being 0-2 down, doesn’t seem too easy a task.
“I am definitely working on a few things. When you get out bowled three times you do think about it. I’ve worked on a few things but it isn’t anything major. There isn’t anything drastic that I have changed over the last year when I was very successful. I have seen the videos (of England) and I can’t see anything different. I hope it’s just a coincidence.
“I don’t think the talk (of Laxman’s removal) has affected him much. I haven’t read and Lax is not bothered either. It’s part and parcel of our job. You have got to accept it while you continue to play. That’s the way it goes. He is a pretty relaxed character and I’m sure he would come good in one of these Tests,” he said.
“As for Sachin’s 100th century, it’s not spoken about much. He’s been pretty relaxed about it. He’s been batting so well. He got a 90 in Mumbai and 70 and 80 in the last two games. He is batting well enough to complete it. It’s great if he can do it here. But he wouldn’t be worried as he has been batting beautifully over the last two or three games,” he added. The Indian batting hasn’t been allowed to get into any sort of rhythm by the Australian bowlers in this series which has led to the debate whether attacking them is the only way to neutralise them.
“Each to his own and each has to plan his own strategy. One (plan) doesn’t fit everyone. You need to know what your game plan is, what you have done throughout your career and what’s got you success,” Dravid said. (PTI)