The Indian cricket team came under immense criticism after their loss in the first Test match against South Africa but the Rohit Sharma-led side made a brilliant recovery after winning the second match within two days in Cape Town. Earlier, the T20I series ended 1-1 after the first match was washed out while India were victorious in the ODI series. Former skipper Sourav Ganguly believes that a loss does not change the fact that India are a great team and he was happy with their performance in South Africa.
"India is a great team. If they lose one game, people talk as if the entire team is bad. A win in the ODI series, 1-1 in T20Is and 1-1 in Tests. What else? They are a very good side," Ganguly told reporters.
Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin rebutted former England captain Michael Vaughan's claim of India being an “underachieving team”, saying they have been one of the best travelling sides in contemporary cricket.
During a panel discussion in Fox Sports recently, Vaughan had said the Indian cricket team should have achieved more on the field, particularly in the ICC events, considering the resources at their disposal.
“Michael Vaughan recently made a statement that the Indian team is underachievers. Yes, we haven't won an ICC trophy in a while, and we call ourselves the powerhouse of the game. But that's just one side of the coin,” Ashwin said in his YouTube channel.
The 37-year-old said India have produced excellent results, especially in Test cricket, around the world in the last few years.
“Our Test team has been one of the best travelling teams at present. We have seen many great results. After Vaughan made that statement, so many experts from our own country started debating if India is an underachieving team. Frankly, it made me laugh,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)