India's senior cricketer Sachin Tendulkar yesterday broke his silence on the World Cup debacle, saying the first round ouster had "shattered the team's dream."
In a rare public outburst, the usually reticent Tendulkar also slammed media reports that coach Greg Chappell had blamed the unhelpful attitude of senior players for the disastrous campaign.
The 33-year-old, statistically the most successful batsman ever with a world record 35 Test and 41 one-day centuries, said he would be very hurt if Chappell questioned his or the team's commitment.
"I've given my heart and my soul for 17 years," said Tendulkar, the most senior active cricketer in the world who made his international debut in 1989.
"No coach had mentioned even in passing that my attitude was not correct," he told the Times of India, which ran his comments as the lead front-page story.
"It's not that we are defending ourselves. We do realize that we played badly and, as a team, we take full responsibility for that. But what hurt us most is if the coach has questioned our attitude," he said.
India, one of the pre-tournament favorites, were upset by Bangladesh in the first match and were knocked out in the preliminary stage after a second loss to Sri Lanka.
Tendulkar said he was disappointed by the reactions.
"Cricket has been my life for all these years and will always be," he said.
"Tell me, the world has gone on talking about all this [our defeat and exit] but has anybody spared a thought for us? Did they try to find out what we have been going through? I am shattered beyond words and I feel helpless," Tendulkar said.
"I've never felt so bad in my entire career. The World Cup was our passion, our collective goal, our dream and that has been shattered," he said. "No matter how many Tests or one-day series you win, nothing else even comes close to a World Cup triumph."
Chappell, the former Australian captain whose two-year term ended with the World Cup, has refused to comment on the team, saying he will give a written report to the Indian cricket board.
The board will hold a two-day meeting in Mumbai tomorrow and Saturday to take stock of the World Cup debacle and also decide if Chappell's contract should be renewed.
Tendulkar is the first team member to go on record since returning from the Caribbean last week, although other players have also spoken to the media against Chappell on condition of anonymity.
Indian cricket chief Sharad Pawar is expected to hear the senior players' version of the defeat before he chairs the board meeting where Chappell and team manager Sanjay Jagdale will present their reports.
Pawar will also hold discussions with former captains like Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev on what to do next.
India are due to tour Bangladesh next month for two Tests and three one-day internationals.
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