R Ashwin acknowledged that Indian team fans were disappointed that they couldn’t bring home the trophy in the recent T20 World Cup 2022, as the Men in Blue were hammered by England by 10 wickets in the semi-final match at Adelaide.
India reached the semi-finals after beating Pakistan, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh in their Group 2 of the Super 12s, losing only to South Africa on a spicy Perth pitch. But in the semi-finals, India went into a shell at the start after being asked to bat first and only managed 168 runs which came thanks to half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya.
In reply, Jos Buttler (80*) and Alex Hales (86*) took England home in 16 overs with all 10 wickets intact as India crashed out in embarrassing fashion.
Ashwin acknowledged the fact of fans being disappointed and stated that no excuse can take the feeling away. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin urged the fans to appreciate the effort of the Indian team to reach the semifinals.
He said: "Everyone would have felt bad seeing Team India not win the tournament or reach the final. I agree, it would have been shattering. I don't think any excuse will make you forget it. Definitely, it is a disappointing moment. But we all have to move on.
We can't call it a disappointing campaign. We lost in the semi-finals. Reaching the semi-finals and finals can be considered an achievement. But from an Indian fan's point of view, and the expectations they have of this team, I totally understand the disappointment from the fans. But we players are at least 200-300 times more disappointed than what you all went through."
Many changes are expected in the Indian T20I side in the aftermath of the T20 World Cup 2022 as BCCI has begun the work by sacking the Chetan Sharma-led selection panel on Friday and inviting fresh applications.
