Ravi Shastri places onus on players, BCCI after India's heavy WTC Final defeat

After India suffered a huge 209-run defeat against Australia at the Oval, head coach Rahul Dravid said arriving in England at least two weeks earlier and playing some side matches would have been ideal for the team ahead of the big game.

London: Former India coach Ravi Shastri on Sunday sounded sceptical about the possibility of players getting extended gap after the IPL or practice games ahead of future WTC final matches unless there is a change in thought by all the stakeholders. After India suffered a huge 209-run defeat against Australia at the Oval, head coach Rahul Dravid said arriving in England at least two weeks earlier and playing some side matches would have been ideal for the team ahead of the big game.

However, Shastri did not buy into the idea and put the onus on the players to make a choice. "That's never going to happen. Let's be realistic. You're going to get 20 days, but if that's the case, you got to miss the IPL. The choice is yours (players)," Shastri said. Shastri also hinted that the Board of Control for Cricket in India will have to sit down with the IPL teams to chalk out a way forward.

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"It's up to the establishment as well. I'm sure the BCCI is going to review this in the future. If the WTC Final is going to come after the IPL, in month of June, for that season, if your team qualifies for the final, there should be certain clauses put in for the franchises," said Shastri.

Earlier, Shastri had also criticised the shot selection of Indian top-order batters, who let down the team. "What's amazed me though is the way that the pitch has behaved. Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara will be kicking themselves for playing the shots that they played. They were poor shots when they were batting beautifully," said Shastri.