India head coach Rahul Dravid has said that it was sad to see the dejected Indian dressing room after the World Cup Final against Australia. Speaking at the press conference after the 6-wicket loss, Dravid said that the Indian cricketing team was hurting and it was tough to watch the players in the dressing room.
Australia outplayed India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, 19 November. Australia, first bowled out India for a below-par total of 240 runs and then chased it down in 43 overs. Several India players were in tears at the end of the match and walked back to the pavillion with their heads down.
Dravid, while speaking in the press conference after the final said that captain Rohit Sharma was disappointed and the dressing room had gone through a lot of emotions after the game.
“Yeah, of course he’s disappointed, as are many of the boys in the dressing room. It wasn’t, yeah, there was a lot of emotions in that dressing room. It was tough to see as a coach because I know how hard these guys have worked, what they’ve put in, the sacrifices they’ve made. So, it’s tough. I mean, it’s tough to see that as a coach, because you get to know these boys personally,” Dravid said at the end of the match.
Dravid spoke about the effort that Indian team had put in through the tournament but accepted that the better team (on the day) won the final.
“You get to see the effort they put in, the hard work that we’ve put in over the last month, the kind of cricket we’ve played. But yeah, but that’s sport. That happens. It can happen. And the better team won on the day. And I’m sure that the sun will come up tomorrow morning,” Dravid spoke about his team.
The former India captain said that it was important for a player’s career to experience highs and lows in these big occasions, so that they can grow as a cricketer.
“We’ll learn from it. We’ll reflect. And we’ll move on, as will everyone else. I mean, that’s what you do as sportsmen. You have some great highs in sport, and you have some lows in sport. And you keep moving on. You don’t stop. Because if you don’t put yourself on the line, you don’t put yourself in games like these, you don’t experience the great highs. And neither do you experience the great lows. And if you don’t do that, you don’t learn,” Dravid concluded in his post-match press conference.
