Sehwag denies reports of seniors retiring; says fans must be more supportive

Adelaide: Miffed with reports that its senior players were contemplating retirement after failing in the Test series loss to Australia, the Indian team management today rejected the speculation as “baseless” and refused to answer queries on the matter. India were whitewashed 0-4 in the Test series that concluded today and the senior batting trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman were heavily criticised for their poor show. Their flopshow, in fact, led to speculation that the three could bow out after the series. But the team management rubbished the rumours. “The team management categorically denies this. Reports about senior players retiring are baseless,” said team manager GS Walia in the post-match press conference today. Walia refused to answer questions on the matter, saying that there was simply no truth in the reports. [caption id=“attachment_196324” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Team India rubbished rumours of its seniors retiring. Reuters”] [/caption] India’s stand-in skipper Virender Sehwag, who addressed the media after the match, also rejected reports of senior players’ retirement. “Some reports have said that senior players will retire after this series. No such thing has happened and this is a decision that they will take,” said the dashing opener, who is himself under immense pressure after an unimpressive show in the series. “These are rumours created by the media,” he added. He said that all teams suffer poor runs of form and India should put the humiliating reverse by behind them. “If you look at the Australian team, they were struggling as well in the Ashes last year and they got out for 47 in South Africa, so it happens with every team so we have to rebuild the team,” he said. “There are experienced players in our team, they are well aware of that and they are working on that, one bad series doesn’t make any difference for them, so they are working hard on their batting skills and they’ll find a way. “The best way out is to forget what happened and concentrate on what we will do in coming matches and coming series and practised hard and plan well and execute your plans in the game,” he added. Sehwag said he understood the frustration of fans but said it was at moments like these, not just successes like the 50-over World Cup triumph last year, that the support of the fans was necessary. “When we won the World Cup everyone was happy and cheering for Team India, and now the time we need the support of the fans and everybody, they should back their own team,” he said. The 33-year-old, who averaged 24.75 runs over the series, said accusations the India team simply did not care enough about losing a test series were well wide of the mark. “It’s very unfair,” he said. “I think everybody cares about their performances, about India losing the game. We are very passionate about our game and passionate about our team and it’s a shame that people are talking about that.” “If you lose the game you should work it out what went wrong and come back and perform well in our next games. We are trying that, but it’s not happening and it doesn’t mean that we are happy to lose here,” he added. Earlier there were reports that the 39-year-old Dravid, one of the game’s greatest batsmen, had told some of his teammates that he had decided to hang his boots. Reuters and PTI