Dubai: Ravi Shastri has said India have done enough, even Don Bradman's average would have come down by living in the Covid bubble.
"One thing I would say. This is not an excuse. This is a fact when you are six months in a bubble ... I don't care who you are. If your name is Bradman. If you are in a bubble as well, your average will come down, because you are human. This is not where you put petrol in the backside and expect the guy to move on in overdrive. It doesn't happen that way.
"So, I think it is a tough time. That's why I say in life it is not about what you accomplish, but what you overcome and that is what this team has done. They have shown the drive to hang in there. No complaints ...," he told reporters in a post-match press conference here.
Shastri was responding to a query on his work ethics along with Captain Virat Kohli to keep the players in hours of criticism.
He further said, "We worked for this. That is the only way you can get each other back. we needed communication, we needed no finger pointing. We needed "I" to be thrown into the dustbin and the word "we" coming in and creating a culture that had to be obeyed and followed."
Virat has been a great ambassador, especially when one looks at his achievement in red ball cricket, Shastri said. "He did not stop at that, but allowed other players in his team to follow suit. You got to give credit to it. So, it is a team culture which was impressed upon the team to follow and they followed it to the hilt. They played fearless cricket round the clock," he said.
Asked how challenging it was for him to take up the job as Team India Head Coach, Shastri said it was most satisfying as they beat Australia twice, which no Asian country has done in seven decades.
"This team has over-achieved what I had expected. Only one thing missing is the ICC tournament. They will get the chance next year. I wish the new coach Rahul Dravid. He is a great player. He got the stature. He has done the yards as a coach to further take this team over the next few years and raise the bar. So, I wish him all the luck for that," he said. (UNI)