Critics are happy when India lose: Ravi Shastri

Bengaluru, February 28: Head coach Ravi Shastri slammed the critics of Indian cricket team and said they never gave due credit when the team wins.

"Sometimes you feel in your country, people are happy when you lose. This is the biggest problem with our critics. When you win, the other team is not playing well. When you win in Sri Lanka, they are a weak team. When you play South Africa, they are not at their best," Shastri told Mid-Day.

"Remember, a team is only as good as you allow it to be. No one says the Indian team were not at their best when we lose. No Indian says that. Ah, but when another team lose, they were not at their best. I can't fathom and I don't have an answer for that.

"We are not playing players, we are playing a country so I don't care what is on offer. I am playing against South Africa. Who plays for South Africa is not my problem," said Shastri.

India came back into the series roaring after losing the first two Tests to win the ODI and T20I series. Shastri compared the effort to Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman fight in 1974.

"What I liked was that the boys stood up and fought. They didn't allow their shoulders to drop. In fact, they fought harder.

"They reserved the biggest punch for the last. Two zip down and to throw that knockout punch on South Africa in Johannesburg was tremendous. They never recovered from that. I was like Muhammad Ali v George Foreman in 1974 and he fu****g knocked him out," said Shastri.

Shastri, however, admitted that scheduling was a worry for the team.

"Big worry. I feel for the players and that is why we have rested so many for the Sri Lanka series. They are human. In our country, the expectations are so high that you have to win in whatever format you play," said Shastri.