[VIDEO] "India is one of the most underachieving sports teams in the world": Michael Vaughan risks losing commentary gigs in India with his statement!

[MenInG]

Watch the end of the video for a comment by the Australia co-comm.

Michael Vaughan says India are one of the ‘most underachieving cricket teams in the world’

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan on Friday said that India are one of the most underachieving cricket teams in the world.

During the Australia vs Pakistan Test, Vaughan asked question to Mark Waugh if he thinks that India are one of the most underachieving sports team in the world. Waugh did not directly answer, opting instead to ask Vaughan the same question.

“They haven’t won much in recent times. I think they are (an underachieving side). They don’t win anything. When was the last time they won something? With all the talent they have, all the skill-set (they should have achieved more,” Vaughan said, talking in a Fox Sports panel.

“They’ve won in Australia twice (Test series in 2018/19 and 2020/21). Magnificent. But the last few World Cups, (they have) been nowhere, in the last few T20 World Cups, (they have) been nowhere,” he added.

He also said India should have achieved way more than what they have done considering the talent at their disposal.

“They’re a good team. They have got plenty of talent but with all the talent they have and the resources they have, I just don’t think they win,” he said.​

 

[HateKiller]

That is hyperbole. Reaching finals or semi finals should count as something. Not same as winning trophy but shouldn't say "India haven't won anything".

 

[Devadwal]

Vaughan is right about India but why he is losing his job with this statement . every one know this truth

 

[Ahmed216]

India is the least talented cricketing nation there's no doubt about it.
They should do better with everything you can imagine at their disposal and over a billion people that follow only one sport. And a board that virtually runs cricket and does not make an effort to grow or revive the sport elsewhere.

 

[Devadwal]

Underachieving yes but least talented is just wishful thinking

 

[MenInG]

Vaughan is right about India but why he is losing his job with this statement . every one know this truth

Interesting thing is this the perception - that BCCI cannot handle anything that diminishes Brand India

 

[Suleiman]

Vaughan is right about India but why he is losing his job with this statement . every one know this truth

Because BCCI and Indian fans are very sensitive in general.

 

[BouncerGuy]

He is very right about the Indian team. Indian greats always talk about the domination in cricket but they have underachieved, losing finals and ko stage matches too often now. Also not doing well overseas.

 

[Rajdeep]

Last 2 series wins by Indian team in Australia is better than anything English team has done there. Not sure what Michael Vaughan is upto.

 

[Devadwal]

Last 2 series wins by Indian team in Australia is better than anything English team has done there. Not sure what Michael Vaughan is upto.

But what he said is completely true .we should have won atleast 2 ICC trophy post 2013 .

 

[BouncerGuy]

yep, India should have won that 2023 World Cup and 2017 champions trophy final but as usual, they were left with nothing but disappointment.

 

[Devadwal]

yep, India should have won that 2023 World Cup and 2017 champions trophy final but as usual, they were left with nothing but disappointment.

Add 2014 Wt20 final.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Add 2014 Wt20 final.

The list is long brother. But for me, that 2023 final loss was the biggest choke in recent times. India had everything under control, but still lost.

 

[Devadwal]

Interesting thing is this the perception - that BCCI cannot handle anything that diminishes Brand India

Dispite not winning any ICC trophy post 2013, BCCI brand values is increasing day by day so not sure this perception can change anything .
For BCCI IPL is biggest brand of cricket and it's value is increasing but i don't support that.

 

[sweep_shot]

India is the richest cricket board in the world.
It has over 1-billion people and cricket is the #1 sport there.
India have considerable leverage over ICC.

Considering these 3 factors, Vaughan has a point. India have underachieved.

 

[Statpadder Inc]

India is the least talented cricketing nation there's no doubt about it.
They should do better with everything you can imagine at their disposal and over a billion people that follow only one sport. And a board that virtually runs cricket and does not make an effort to grow or revive the sport elsewhere.

Nope, Pakistan is by far the least talented cricketing nation in the world. That is why a 30 year streak of humiliation in Australia continuing is not considered a big deal but celebrated because the team gave a fight.
So are the humiliations at the hand of Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland in world cups. Your team has been in the same amount of wc semis in this century as Kenya. And the home whitewash wasn't considered a big deal too

 

[greatest]

Even the mighty West Indies failed to win 3 World Cups in the 80s and early 90s. From 1980 till 1995 they were the undisputed kings of cricket.
India may not have won any ICC title lately but they have achieved more than any other team, like beating Australia in Australia twice. This is a huge achievement.

 

[jnaveen1980]

He is correct with his assessment.Unless he talks bad about BJP he shouldn't worry about losing his commentary gig. This is a false narrative. "Scoring runs against India will make you lose IPL contract" when the opposite is true.

 

[Buzzinga]

I agree with Vaughan about not winning much. but saying least achieving but over stretch. Also whats with many posters saying about having more than 1 billion population. More people, more resources needed to manage them. Its not like one billion people are playing the sport.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Even the mighty West Indies failed to win 3 World Cups in the 80s and early 90s. From 1980 till 1995 they were the undisputed kings of cricket.
India may not have won any ICC title lately but they have achieved more than any other team, like beating Australia in Australia twice. This is a huge achievement.

And after that where that mighty west indies is standing today

 

[Marooned]

He is 1000% percent right.

 

[Bewal Express]

That is hyperbole. Reaching finals or semi finals should count as something. Not same as winning trophy but shouldn't say "India haven't won anything".

It isn't. They are only competing against 5 teams

 

[hitthestump]

India is a failed cricketing nation who have every advantage under the sun but can’t win anything except PayTM trophy on doctored pitches at home.

Frankly Vaughan is being kind to India. India’s performances are not underachieving, but rather a humiliation.

Sadly they have their priorities wrong and will continue to get humiliated on the field despite having every aspect in their favour imaginable.

 

[Itachi]

India is the richest cricket board in the world.
It has over 1-billion people and cricket is the #1 sport there.
India have considerable leverage over ICC.

Considering these 3 factors, Vaughan has a point. India have underachieved.

It depends how you look at achievement.

There's the business part and there is the playing aspect.

People tend to often mix up these two but both are not inter related at all.

BCCI has single handedly destroyed the lobby maintained by Aus and Eng thus totally disrupting the power structure.

In that aspect, India has gained what one couldn't even dreamt in the 90s.

 

[LongHorn]

Well atleast India is great at few things and we can dominate the world in that,

Like? India doesnt dominate the world in anything positive; in some negative stuff (lack of sanitation,caste violence,) definitely, but nothing positive

 

[IMMY69]

Well Vaughn is only saying what I said a few years ago...

Indians saying Two test series win in Australia?
I suppose that counts for something but not nearly enough if you consider everything...

The really good thing about those victories in Australia is that none of the Aussie players had played IPL so that makes those victories more special

 

[Rajdeep]

Let me put it this way -

As an Indian fan I am extremely happy and proud of our cricket history & achievements so far.

Winning 3 world cups (60 overs, 50 overs and T20), 2 test series wins in Australia, 7 Asia Cup's, 2 Champions Trophy, being invincible at home etc etc. To top it all, the world cup winning streak against our arch rivals.

We have produced legendary cricketers and heroes in every decades. And now we have the greatest cricket league in the world which can compete with likes of NFL and Premier League.

Outsiders (aka haters) should really mind the business of their own team. Michael Vaughan's team England gets humiliated every time they travel Australia, got humiliated in the home Ashes, got humiliated in the recently concluded world cup and will get humiliated again in the upcoming test series against India.

We Indian fans are extremely proud of our team and happy with everything it has achieved so far. Don't need lecture from outsiders. Thank you.

 

[IMMY69]

Let me put it this way -

As an Indian fan I am extremely happy and proud of our cricket history & achievements so far.

Winning 3 world cups (60 overs, 50 overs and T20), 2 test series wins in Australia, 7 Asia Cup's, 2 Champions Trophy, being invincible at home etc etc. To top it all, the world cup winning streak against our arch rivals.

We have produced legendary cricketers and heroes in every decades. And now we have the greatest cricket league in the world which can compete with likes of NFL and Premier League.

Outsiders (aka haters) should really mind the business of their own team. Michael Vaughan's team England gets humiliated every time they travel Australia, got humiliated in the home Ashes, got humiliated in the recently concluded world cup and will get humiliated again in the upcoming test series against India.

We Indian fans are extremely proud of our team and happy with everything it has achieved so far. Don't need lecture from outsiders. Thank you.

and here ^^ is exactly the problem with India

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Michael Vaughan has just called spade a spade. The current Indian cricket generation has just become a laughing stock for everyone now.

 

[pakistani pride]

LOL why should he lose potential jobs for saying this?
It is the truth and Indians know this as well.

 

[Rajdeep]

LOL why should he lose potential jobs for saying this?
It is the truth and Indians know this as well.

Michael Vaughan has no commentary gig in India as he is only contracted with Fox Sports and with Cricbuzz (digitally)

And even he had one, no one will have any issue with him for giving his opinion. He has every right to do so. Whether that opinion is accurate or not is another story.

 

[Rajdeep]

and here ^^ is exactly the problem with India

There is no problem with India. Not sure what are you even talking about...LOL.

We are ranked one team in all 3 formats which suggests that we are doing very well consistently across all formats.

 

[Devadwal]

Michael Vaughan has just called spade a spade. The current Indian cricket generation has just become a laughing stock for everyone now.

Lol this is what Pakistan fan's dream only .india hasn't won ICC trophy in last 10 year but before that they won three ICC trophy in 6 year .
India still has 2nd most ICC trophy after Australia in cricketing history .
India is currently Number.1 Team in ICC rankings accross formats .
India have best overseas winning record+ Home record in last 7-8 year accross all formats .
So what are you talking about laughing stock??
Pakistan is currently lost 16 consecutive test match(soon 17) in Australia which is actually laughing stock for every one

 

[Asad T]

Lol this is what Pakistan fan's dream only .india hasn't won ICC trophy in last 10 year but before that they won three ICC trophy in 6 year .
India still has 2nd most ICC trophy after Australia in cricketing history .
India is currently Number.1 Team in ICC rankings accross formats .
India have best overseas winning record+ Home record in last 7-8 year accross all formats .
So what are you talking about laughing stock??
Pakistan is currently lost 16 consecutive test match(soon 17) in Australia which is actually laughing stock for every one

Yeah I agree that Pakistan would rather be in Inda's boots.
So I agree that calling India a "laughing stock" doesn't make sense
Just a matter of time before they win an ICC trophy

 

[Devadwal]

Yeah I agree that Pakistan would rather be in Inda's boots.
So I agree that calling India a "laughing stock" doesn't make sense
Just a matter of time before they win an ICC trophy

ICT is most underachieve team everyone know that becouse of quality of team .but calling Indian cricket team " Laughing stock" is absolutely rubbish.

 

[jnaveen1980]

India is the richest cricket board in the world.
It has over 1-billion people and cricket is the #1 sport there.
India have considerable leverage over ICC.

Considering these 3 factors, Vaughan has a point. India have underachieved.

He did not mean any of that. He is talking about potential. They dominated 4 world cups in a row in league stage. Billion people theory is a stupid theory. Unless you play a game where you need 500 million players. Compare BD population with Australia. BD has not even won Asia cup

 

[kumjsr]

If England wins Ashes in Aus, they will hype it as their greatest achievement since since 2005.

 

[160KPH]

It’s true that India has underperformed in major tournaments and events, but it’s not as if the England team is much better.

The England team’s limited over side was absolutely horrible until they had their white ball revolution after their horrible performance in the 2015 World Cup. They went on a good run, but in this World Cup, almost up until the last match, they were desperately trying to even qualify for the next Champion’s Trophy.

England in Tests are always pretty bad. They’ve only held the Ashes one time since November 2013.

 

[kingusama92]

There is no problem with India. Not sure what are you even talking about...LOL.

We are ranked one team in all 3 formats which suggests that we are doing very well consistently across all formats.

View attachment 140849

Please be honest, do you think Babar is the number one ODI batsman on the planet right now?

If not, these rankings are useless.

T20I and ODI rankings are meaningless. Half the time everyone is playing weaker squads during non-WC years. You have to win the trophies in the shorter formats and India hasn't done that, so indeed they have underachieved compared to the same rankings you are displaying here. The fact they bottled it at home only makes things worse.

Just like Babar underachieved in the World Cup after being the number one ODI batsman.

India also lost the Test Championship and Australia has the same number of ranking points as them. So Australia is easily the better team, which is once again a sign of underachieving from India.

These should be the glory days for India but Australia is the one dominating.

 

[LegendAli]

Last 2 series wins by Indian team in Australia is better than anything English team has done there. Not sure what Michael Vaughan is upto.

Why are you bringing England into this? Just because Vaughan is english?

Listen to what he said.

 

[LegendAli]

I agree with Vaughan about not winning much. but saying least achieving but over stretch. Also whats with many posters saying about having more than 1 billion population. More people, more resources needed to manage them. Its not like one billion people are playing the sport.

You answered your own question and didn't even realize it.

 

[BouncerGuy]

India should have won some major tournaments where they reached the KO stage but failed and choked at the most important stage. Yes they have underachieved and should have won 1 t20 world cup and 1 odi world cup in recent times.

 

[sweep_shot]

India have more resources in cricket than all other 11 Test countries combined. But, they have not won any ICC trophy since 2013.

It seems like they are too occupied with IPL.

 

[BouncerGuy]

IPL has been the biggest brand of cricket and involves a lot of money but India's underachieving can also have IPL as the main reason due to more involvement of players in IPL rather than trying to get some ICC Cup for the country.

 

[Romali_rotti]

Michael Vaughn spitting facts....

Good on him...

Appreciate his honest views..

 

[jnaveen1980]

IPL has been the biggest brand of cricket and involves a lot of money but India's underachieving can also have IPL as the main reason due to more involvement of players in IPL rather than trying to get some ICC Cup for the country.

MSD won 3 trophies in 6 years of his captaincy. Two of them came after IPL was started. I don't think it is IPL. India lacks a tournament special captain. Kohli is one of the worst in LOIs. He is still a great Test captain though. Rohit sharma outside IPL and Asia cup won nothing. Problem is team selection is based on IPL connection. Suryakumar yadav is a horrible ODI batmsan. So many guys like Samson are better than him. Yet he was picked for the world cup and got egg on their face. Reason is SKY is part of Mumbai Indians.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Venkatesh knows the reality.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1740984135567761823

 

[Energy]

A billion people dancing on the streets and watching the likes of Pune vs Gujrat in the IPL is what has made BCCI a powerhouse brand financially.

Hence, the pinch of having nothing to show for 12 years on international multilateral front isn't as strong as it should be.

It's not the BCCI, it's their public that is ultra protective and patriotic. So fair play where it matters- they will defend their nation on all counts and they're usually nerdy so expect furiously typed metaphors every now and then.

In the world of tournament silverware for the last decade, unfortunately India finds itself sitting close to Bangladesh level.

 

[Buzzinga]

You answered your own question and didn't even realize it.

Not sure if you understood!!! Managing more than one billion people in a country like India is a herculean task.

 

[kumjsr]

Please be honest, do you think Babar is the number one ODI batsman on the planet right now?

If not, these rankings are useless.

T20I and ODI rankings are meaningless. Half the time everyone is playing weaker squads during non-WC years. You have to win the trophies in the shorter formats and India hasn't done that, so indeed they have underachieved compared to the same rankings you are displaying here. The fact they bottled it at home only makes things worse.

Just like Babar underachieved in the World Cup after being the number one ODI batsman.

India also lost the Test Championship and Australia has the same number of ranking points as them. So Australia is easily the better team, which is once again a sign of underachieving from India.

These should be the glory days for India but Australia is the one dominating.

India has beaten Australia in 4 consecutive test series.

So yes Australia is better test side.

 

[Statpadder Inc]

A billion people dancing on the streets and watching the likes of Pune vs Gujrat in the IPL is what has made BCCI a powerhouse brand financially.

Hence, the pinch of having nothing to show for 12 years on international multilateral front isn't as strong as it should be.

It's not the BCCI, it's their public that is ultra protective and patriotic. So fair play where it matters- they will defend their nation on all counts and they're usually nerdy so expect furiously typed metaphors every now and then.

In the world of tournament silverware for the last decade, unfortunately India finds itself sitting close to Bangladesh level.

Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe have the same amount of wcs in the last 3 decades and cricket is the only sport you are not down right terrible in.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Yes they are massive underachievers. Perhaps the biggest in sporting history. They have all the money, massive population and the sport is a religion in the country. Still they dont have much to show for it.

Pakistanis shouldn't be too smug. We aren't far behind them. We have more interest in cricket than all of the other playing countries (barring India) and still couldn't get out of a world cup group stage.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

India has beaten Australia in 4 consecutive test series.

So yes Australia is better test side.

Cricket isnt boxing. Test series between two sides arent the barometer for greatness. India didnt become heavy weight champion by beating Australia. It was a big deal for them but they arent the first country to win a series in Oz.

 

[IMMY69]

Yes they are massive underachievers. Perhaps the biggest in sporting history. They have all the money, massive population and the sport is a religion in the country. Still they dont have much to show for it.

Pakistanis shouldn't be too smug. We aren't far behind them. We have more interest in cricket than all of the other playing countries (barring India) and still couldn't get out of a world cup group stage.

Actually given the circumstances I would argue that Pakistan has massively overachieved...
there is a legitimate reason why some of the most esteemed pundits laud Pakistan's talent...

 

[shortbread]

Vaughan was being brutally honest, most commentators say nice things about the Indian team looking for an easy deal/pay day. They choke more consistently than the South Africans now.

 

[Devadwal]

Underachieve label as India is one of the best cricketing team

 

[Rajdeep]

In the same video posted on OP, Mark Waugh also said they (India) were the best team in the ODI world cup. But of course no one will mention it.

 

[kingusama92]

India has beaten Australia in 4 consecutive test series.

So yes Australia is better test side.

Australia won the Test Championship. It's as simple as that. You can't overlook it and it's similar to declaring India the WC winners because they beat Australia in a group game.

Australia not only won the Test championship but also was the leader in points heading into the final. This is as comprehensive as it gets over a long period.

They beat India both in the short-term (final) and long-term (points table).

 

[Rajdeep]

Mods deleted my post to you.

Australia won the Test Championship. It's as simple as that. You can't overlook it and it's similar to declaring India the WC winners because they beat Australia in a group game.

Australia not only won the Test championship but also was the leader in points heading into the final. This is as comprehensive as it gets over a long period.

They beat India both in the short-term (final) and long-term (points table).

Brother, the concept of WTC finals is a farce. I am not saying this bcoz my team lost but its a one off game without any practicality. As the poster mentioned, India has beaten Australia in last 4 Border-Gavaskar test series both home and away. Mind you, all those were proper series with 4 matches in each of them, meaning both teams had enough time to not fluke it which teams like Srilanka does sometimes with 2 match tours. The last time Australia won a test series against India was in 2014 when MSD was still our test captain. So it is quiet evident India is a better test side than Aussies. Not sure how based on that one off game, albeit a so called WTC finals, we can conclude Australia is a better test side.

Same was the case in 50 over WC. India was by far the best side in the tournament and just had one bad day. Yes these bad days are becoming touch repetitive which I am sure the team will address in near future. However to say India don't win anything or as some posters here saying India's performance is humiliating is a case of sour grapes to me.

 

[greatest]

Brother, the concept of WTC finals is a farce. I am not saying this bcoz my team lost but its a one off game without any practicality. As the poster mentioned, India has beaten Australia in last 4 Border-Gavaskar test series both home and away. Mind you, all those were proper series with 4 matches in each of them, meaning both teams had enough time to not fluke it which teams like Srilanka does sometimes with 2 match tours. The last time Australia won a test series against India was in 2014 when MSD was still our test captain. So it is quiet evident India is a better test side than Aussies. Not sure how based on that one off game, albeit a so called WTC finals, we can conclude Australia is a better test side.

Same was the case in 50 over WC. India was by far the best side in the tournament and just had one bad day. Yes these bad days are becoming touch repetitive which I am sure the team will address in near future. However to say India don't win anything or as some posters here saying India's performance is humiliating is a case of sour grapes to me.

When 7-8 teams play so much against each other then you don't need a championship and a one-off game to decide who is the best. Better to go with a rating/ranking system which shows who is the most consistent team.
Sports like tennis don't have a world championship because top players play too many tournaments like the Grand Slams and others around the world. The most consistent players top the rankings.

 

[Devadwal]

Australia won the Test Championship. It's as simple as that. You can't overlook it and it's similar to declaring India the WC winners because they beat Australia in a group game.

Australia not only won the Test championship but also was the leader in points heading into the final. This is as comprehensive as it gets over a long period.

They beat India both in the short-term (final) and long-term (points table).

WTC final is joke .you cant decide winner based on one of game . a series of 3 test match is best possible way of decide the WTC Champion team

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Actually given the circumstances I would argue that Pakistan has massively overachieved...
there is a legitimate reason why some of the most esteemed pundits laud Pakistan's talent...

They have achieved below average for their resources and interest in cricket.

Pakistan has won less world cups than West Indies, India and Australia.

Less T20 wcs than England and Windies

Less Asia Cups than Sri Lanka.

When you consider that cricket is largely irrelevant in most of these countries then our record is actually exceptionally poor.

 

[Ab Fan]

India are no 1 ranked team in the world in all the formats- Tests, ODIs and T20Is. That answers all the questions put by critics.

 

[Ab Fan]

Btw, Vaughan isn't losing any gig irrespective of his comments. He may receive negative reviews from fans but that hardly will have any impact. He is free to say whatever he feels, it's a right to opinion.

 

[Buffet]

India are no 1 ranked team in the world in all the formats- Tests, ODIs and T20Is. That answers all the questions put by critics.

It tests it may matter , but it hardly matters in ODI and T20.

 

[Rana]

Rich coming form an Englishmen…especially considering all of their key players in the past decade were not really English

 

[greatest]

As usual Vaughan creating some excitement and drama before the all important 5 match India England series. If England lose 5-0 then he would have to eat his words. He always gets a lot of stick from Indians on social media. Wasim Jaffer and company would be waiting for him.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Rich coming form an Englishmen…especially considering all of their key players in the past decade were not really English

They needed an Irish captain to do something for them. Not to mention they change the cricketing laws anyway they wanted so that they could stay relevant. Australia despite in worst form never performed poorly in a world cup since 1992 like ENgland did this year. This was truly a horrendous performance coming in as favorites.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

I have to respectfully disagree.

You have corruption throughout the country, in every single walk of life, running through every establishment. Cricket is not immune to this.

How many players actually make it to club cricket, let alone first class cricket, on merit.

It's not about ability but who you know and how big your wallet is.

The entire cricketing system is there to service the corrupt and the elite...
It's both commendable (to PP) and yet laughable when you have a fan based cricket site that has to contact coaches and administrators to promote a young player who has no other connections in life.

A 200 million population in which only 0.005pct of the people have a chance of success...

Then you have the millions of dollars thrown away one way or the other and inept cricketing system, the leaders of which change with each government....

Taking all this into account, I'm actually impressed as to how we've managed to remain competitive

I agree with you mostly but ultimately a mismanagement of resources is still overall an underachievement right?

While I do agree there is nepotism I dont think it means that there is masses of untapped talent. This is a myth that needs busted. The nepotism while regrettable may only effect a small percentage of cricketers.

Afghanistan has worse issues but they have players that are willing to develop themselves and their game. We have lost that fighting spirit.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Srilanka a war torn country has won World cup, World T20, CT. All three. Also a team that reached most number of Asia cup finals. They also reached world cup final three times. Look at Bangladesh with all the fan base. They don't even get anywhere close there. Failure is one off match is not a reflection of talent. India dominated last 4 world cups. They also dominated last four under-19 world cups. Walking in as a favorite itself is an achievement. India's lack of tournament success is purely due to lack of leadership rather than lack of talent. Once these old hags leave we might see a chance. Check what India did after Kohli left Australian tour. India won at the MCG, They valiantly drew at the SCG. Created history at the Gabba. All without him.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Team >>>> Group of individuals. Subcontinent teams don't realize that. That is why they don't win much. Srilanka was one team that was good at playing as a team. But now they have all become brainless hacks these days.

 

[kingusama92]

Brother, the concept of WTC finals is a farce. I am not saying this bcoz my team lost but its a one off game without any practicality. As the poster mentioned, India has beaten Australia in last 4 Border-Gavaskar test series both home and away. Mind you, all those were proper series with 4 matches in each of them, meaning both teams had enough time to not fluke it which teams like Srilanka does sometimes with 2 match tours. The last time Australia won a test series against India was in 2014 when MSD was still our test captain. So it is quiet evident India is a better test side than Aussies. Not sure how based on that one off game, albeit a so called WTC finals, we can conclude Australia is a better test side.

Same was the case in 50 over WC. India was by far the best side in the tournament and just had one bad day. Yes these bad days are becoming touch repetitive which I am sure the team will address in near future. However to say India don't win anything or as some posters here saying India's performance is humiliating is a case of sour grapes to me.

I agree but the WTC as a whole is not a joke. At least to me. It spans over two years and Australia topped the table on points.

They beat teams India couldn't beat to get to that position.

You are comparing head-to-head but I am comparing universally. You can't be the better Test team when you're not doing as well against other opponents. Since India didn't win the WTC final, we can't suddenly claim the Test series between them was the actual final.

Even in ODIs before India lost the WC final, they were being listed as among the top 5 greatest WC teams of all time by Indian fans (and myself too btw). But when they lost in a big pressure match at home, it can't be written off because it changes everything including how that team is perceived.

Regardless, Vaughan's point is fair because they have underachieved compared to their rankings by not getting their hands on any of the ICC trophies for years.

 

[kingusama92]

WTC final is joke .you cant decide winner based on one of game . a series of 3 test match is best possible way of decide the WTC Champion team

100% agree.

3 matches should be the minimum. If it wasn't a cost issue, it really should be a 5-match series considering they spend two years building up to the final.

I wish Test cricket was more feasible, but I'm assuming a three-match final would be a loss unless it involves India, England, or Australia.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Ravichandran Ashwin's Fiery Response As Michael Vaughan Brands Team India 'Underachieving Side'

India's tour of South Africa didn't produce the sort of result the team was hoping for as Rohit Sharma's side lost the first Test by a huge margin, squandering a big opportunity to win a series in South Africa. India's poor show in the Test series opener prompted former England captain to brand the team one of the most 'underachieving' in world cricket. Vaughan's statement even made some former Indian cricketers echoe his comments but veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin isn't in agreement.

Ashwin, in a video on his YouTube channel, issued a fiery response, saying such a comment 'made him laugh' considering how well India have done in world cricket, especially in the Test format.

"Michael Vaughan made a statement after the first Test that India is an underachieving team. Yes, we haven't won ICC trophies for years. We call ourselves the powerhouses of the game. But the Test team has been one of the best traveling teams in the vicinity. We have seen many great results," Ashwin said in response.

"After he said that, so many experts from our own country started questioning if India is an underachieving team. Frankly, it made me laugh. Picture yourself. Just reverse the situation. SA batted first in this Test after winning the toss. If SA had batted first after winning the toss in Centurion, wasn't there a chance they could have gotten all out by 65? Even India was staring at the barrel at 20/3, thanks to Virat and Shreyas' partnership from there to save us."

"So, both cricket and Test cricket are differentiated by fine margins. In a country like India, where we talk cricket in every nook and cranny and consider the sport a religion, I feel we criticize and nitpick too much and get into unnecessary details. I think these are blinding us," said Ashwin.

Vaughan had said Fox Sports in response to a question from former Australia batter Mark Waugh: "They haven't won much in recent times. I think they are (an underachieving side). They don't win anything. When was the last time they won something? With all the talent they have, all the skill-set (they should have achieved more."

Though Ashwin admitted that India lost two World Test Championship finals in a row, he feels they have done really well when it comes to overseas assignments in the longest format of the game.

"What we need to understand is that it is still a sport. The fact is that a quality cricket team with good mental fortitude and mental skills can make a comeback from wherever they are, and this Indian team has time and again proved it. Yes, we lost two WTC finals. I accept it wholeheartedly. But in the case of Test series, a comeback is always possible."
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SOURCE: NDTV

 

[amax]

I think Pakistan , gives India a good competition , when it comes to this, only they have over a billion people save us here.