The India team that won the T20I series against Australia 3-0 was one that had never played together before – on one hand of the spectrum the warhorses Ashish Nehra and Yuvraj Singh, and on the other the fresh faces like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya.
Captain MS Dhoni has been around for a while in international cricket, currently in his thirteenth year, and he has a fair notion of where the achievement of this latest batch of India players stand. A source, according to Indian Express, has reported that the 34-year-old gave a rousing speech after the T20 series win, and that Team Director Ravi Shastri joined in.
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The speech was delivered for about 20 minutes in the SCG away dressing room, and came very soon after India clinched the final win, on the back of a vintage matchwinning partnership between Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh.
“He stressed on the importance of this series win and that India has never played cricket like this against Australia at their home. He said the batsmen have been on a great run and that everybody should know the importance of a whitewash. It was the first time many of them have seen such success and Dhoni wanted them to understand the significance of this series win,” said the source.
“He told everyone that India should now take the advantage of the form into the coming series of three T20s against Sri Lanka at home and the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. He doesn’t want the team to slip from here. He stressed that players should retain the same confidence in the next series. He wants to carry the same momentum,” said the source.
Not even past greats could do this: Shastri
Ravi Shastri also reportedly had a few words to say after Dhoni’s speech. He praised the ‘tigerish’ spirit of the players, and said that he foresaw a great future for this team.
“He told them that none of the past players, not even the greats of Indian cricket, could achieve what they have. He said that India played a hard brand of cricket against Australia and the team gave back in the language Australians understood.
“Shastri said that India has never played such cricket before and it will leave a great mark on world cricket. He said India was always looked upon as a team that did well in the sub-continent, but this team will change the mindset,” the source said.
India had been suffering a string of consecutive defeats to Australia in Australia till a turn of fortune saw them win the 5th ODI and take the T20 series 3-0. Whether the team rises up to the captain’s call and go on a winning mometum in T20s from now till the World Cup final is what will be exciting to see.
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