Indian players ‘stranded’ in Manchester after sudden exit

By Baidurjo Bhose

Birmingham, July 11 (IANS) It wasnt meant to pan out the way it did. At least that is the general feeling in the Indian camp after the loss to New Zealand at Old Trafford on Wednesday. And the sudden exit has in fact left the Indian players "stranded" as the players are set to be mere spectators till Sunday.

Speaking to IANS, sources in the know of developments said that while tickets were being arranged for, most of the players were expected to be in Manchester till Sunday.

"Most of the boys will be in Manchester till July 14 and leave from there. Tickets are being booked after the campaign came to an end yesterday," the source said.

The West Indies series will be India's next challenge after the World Cup and some of the senior players like Virat Kohli and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is expected to be rested for the limited-overs leg of the series. But they will be back for the two-match Test series as that will be the start of the Test Championship.

Speaking after the loss on Wednesday, skipper Kohli said that it was definitely disappointing to exit the showpiece event after just one poor outing from the batsmen.

"I think we are sad but we are not devastated because of the kind of cricket that we played in this tournament. We know where we stood as a team and today we were not good enough and that is the nature of this tournament. One bad day in the knockout stage you are out of the tournament.

"But having said that we have qualified for the semis and we have played some really good cricket, so we should be also proud of the way we have played and look at the positives also because there were a lot throughout this tournament, especially Rohit's performance, Jasprit (Bumrah) with the ball and Jadeja given the opportunity.

"So there are many things that we can take back as positives. But yeah not having played that bad a cricket and then just 40-45 minutes of bad cricket puts you out. As a sportsman you have to accept it, this is part and parcel of this game," he said.

(Baidurjo Bhose can be contacted at baidurjo.b@ians.in)