Leave the disaster behind, look to future, says Gaekwad

Gaekwad, for whom the Dhaka assignment would probably be his last as the team coach, admitted that the Indian team was outplayed by a superior Lankan side.

“I have no excuses to make as we were clearly outplayed by the Lankans in this tournament,” he added.

“We were outplayed in all departments of the game by the superior Lankans and I probably think this was the worst performance by my team in the recent past.”

“However, this (getting all out for 54) does not happen everyday and one must not look too deep into this performance as our boys played well at Sharjah as well as in the ICC Knock-out tourney at Nairobi before succumbing to the pressure in the finals of both the tournaments,” the former opening batsman said.

“We have quite a few talented youngsters who are still learning the tricks of the trade and playing against tough opponents will help them mature fast,” Gaekwad said.

About the forthcoming Bangladesh tour, Gaekwad said, “We will not take Bangladesh lightly even though they are playing their first Test match.”

“I also think it will be a good experience for the youngsters to play at Dhaka on a different surface after Nairobi and Sharjah,” he added.