Mohammad Azharuddin lashes out at Ravi Shastri, defends Anil Kumble

Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin expressed his views on current Indian head coach Ravi Shastri’s comments on how the Indian team at present has achieved a lot more than the teams of the past. The temperamental Indian coach had said that the Indian team of the past 20 years have not achieved as much as the current side.

Kumble made the right call

At the pre-launch event of a 3D mobile game, Azhar said that it will be very unfair to compare the two eras. He pointed at the different conditions, different oppositions and said that it is not ideal to compare the two. One of the most successful Indian skippers, Azhar was not amused at such comments and wondered why former players make such controversial statements. He also went on to defend former Indian coach Anil Kumble‘s decision to resign, calling it the ‘right call’.

“The Indian team in those days were different to the team now so it is unfair to compare. He (Shastri) was also part of the team in those days so he is also including himself. The bowlers were different, the opposition teams were different so it is difficult to compare between the two eras” he said.

“It is sad that something like this happened to Anil. Knowing Anil, I don’t think he is that type of a person. Maybe he thought it is better to be away than losing your self-respect. I think he took the right decision under the circumstances,” Azharuddin said.

Current Lankan attack is poor

When asked about if the Kohli-Shastri combo will win the tough battles, Azhar said that it is still early days, and the challenge will be to counter swing in tough conditions. Taking nothing away from the Indian team, the former skipper said that the current Sri Lankan attack looks poor and therefore he will wait for the Indian side to win overseas against South Africa and England.