ICC World T20 | India did not get to that Number 1 spot overnight, let us not judge them, comments Sachin Tendulkar

Team India recently suffered a 10-wicket loss against England in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup in Australia. Rohit Sharma and Co. had decent outings in Super 12, winning four out of five matches but failed to carry the momentum in the knockouts. 

In the darkest of times, Sachin Tendulkar stepped up to support the Men in Blue during his recent interview with ANI. The Master Blaster, while admitting the semi-final defeat was ‘disappointing’, asked his countrymates to stand beside the squad. Tendulkar, however, mentioned India’s overall performance in the semi-final was very poor.

“I know that the semi-final against England was very disappointing. Let us accept that we did not put up a good total on the board. 168 in Adelaide Oval is not great since the dimensions of the ground are entirely different and the side boundaries are really short. We were also unsuccessful in taking wickets. It was a tough game for us, a bad and disappointing defeat,” Tendulkar told ANI.

“To get to that Number 1 spot, it does not happen overnight. The team has to play good cricket over a period of time and it has done that. Let us not judge our team on the basis of this performance. Players also did not want to go out and fail. In sports, these ups and downs are there. We have to be in it together.”

The Indian squad are now in New Zealand to play three T20Is and as many ODIs, beginning on November 18.