Former Test wicketkeeper batsman, Deep Dasgupta, feels crisis-like situation down under after humiliating loss in the first Test against Australia is also an opportunity for Team India's leaders to step up.
Dasgupta said the now infamous '36 all out' is a chance for stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane and the rest of the group to regalvanise themselves ahead of the next Test in Melbourne starting December 26.
Read Also: Ponting says Australia have a "good chance" to end with a clean sweep in Tests
“See, obviously it is a big loss. It is a loss where it is very difficult to explain. Anything that could have gone wrong went wrong. But let’s just look forward and see how you can make things change," Dasgupta said on Sports Today.
"Most importantly the onus is on the senior players like Ajinkya (Rahane), (Cheteshwar) Pujara, (Ravichandran) Ashwin. These guys have been around for a while and this is the time for them to step up. You need leaders right now."
"When the going is good you don’t need leaders, the team is on auto-mode and the team moves on. But now in this crisis situation is when the leaders need to step up. This particular team has leaders and they need to step up as a team, they need to step up for each other," he added.
The moment India crashed out to their lowest-ever Test score in the second innings in Adelaide and suffered a painful eight-wicket loss, wider consensus build-up that the side will simply meltdown on what is a very difficult tour and end with a 4-0 hammering.
Dasgupta, however, reinforced that the batting collapse on Saturday (December 19) was an "aberration" and this is still a "good" Indian team.
"This is a good team. The 36 is an aberration to the power of infinity. It will not happen again in the next 65 years. This team has the abilities, the capability (to win). They won a series here in 2018. Things are a little different now. But they need to step up."
"In crisis situation you either split up and explode or you come together, and this works as a glue. So, it is upto the team, upto the leaders, and seniors especially in that squad to come together and galvanize," he added.
