145;We didn146;t play well enough146;

8226; Well, I think it8217;s a collective responsibility. We didn8217;t play well enough and it is a disappointment that everyone has to share.

Do you want to continue as Indian coach?

8226; Aw, this is not the time to talk about that.

Over the last 17-18 months, we have heard the term Vision 2007. Our 2007 World Cup is over, do you think it8217;s a personal failure for you?

8226; As I said before, I think it8217;s a collective responsibility. We8217;ve come here with high expectations obviously, certainly from home, and we haven8217;t been able to live up to that. I think that8217;s something that everyone is well aware of in the dressing room. It8217;s a fairly quiet place, as you can imagine, at the moment. Everybody8217;s disappointed. As Rahul Dravid said just a while ago, it8217;s something that we8217;re all in together and we all have to share together, and that8217;s the case.

During the last three weeks, India have been here, they have looked very flat in the middle. Do you think they have played too much cricket over the last three months?

8226; No, I think coming out of Jamaica, the feeling in the group was very strong, the spirit was strong and very high. As a group, we were confident and we had a reasonably good break in that period in Jamaica. So I don8217;t think we can complain about that or use that as an excuse. At the end of the day, we didn8217;t play well enough in the group stage, and that8217;s the full story.

Do you think the pressure got to the players?

8226; I think the Indian team is definitely playing under more pressure than most teams because of the weight of expectations back in India. I think it does have an effect and I would say from my experience of the last few weeks that it definitely had its effect. Going into the Bangladesh game, I thought the boys were a bit anxious at that stage and then the pressure built from there. Today, we just didn8217;t play that well enough. I think the bowlers did a reasonable job and we didn8217;t really give ourselves a chance to win the match because we just didn8217;t get any partnerships at any stage.

There was a whole hype built around how this team was working towards the World Cup. What came undone?

8226; Look, there is nothing more to be said other than we didn8217;t play well enough. The fact of the matter was that we got the team that India wanted and we didn8217;t perform when the time came. That8217;s the long and the short of it. There is no other answer. I8217;m not sure that right at this moment is the time to try and dissect it. We need to go away and look at it from a bit of distance that might give some perspective. There is no point making statements, comments at an emotional time like this. At the end of the day, we didn8217;t play well enough.

Are you in any way concerned about the reactions that this might bring about in security terms?

8226; In the light of recent incidents, obviously you8217;ve got to be concerned. I think, again, when India wakes up tomorrow, they will be disappointed. They will be very angry with what has happened. It is a disappointment. I hope that people realise that it is just a game, and the guys went out there and did their best. It wasn8217;t good enough on this occasion. I think there are a number of things that will need to be looked at to get a true perspective of what has happened here in the last two weeks. But I don8217;t know if we8217;re going to get any answers right at this moment other than to say we didn8217;t play well enough.

India is a team of star batsmen, but why are they repeatedly crumbling? Have you been able to analyse what exactly is the problem? Is it that they are unable to handle the pressure?

8226; There are a number of factors but I8217;m not going to try and put labels on it at the moment. Because, again, it8217;s a very emotional time for a lot of people and any comment that is made can easily be misconstrued and made to seem worse than it really is. I don8217;t know how many times I can say it, but we weren8217;t good enough on the day. That was basically it.

Over the last 17 matches overseas, India have only played 50 overs on four occasions. Why is that?

8226; We didn8217;t play well enough.

But it8217;s a period stretching over one and-a-half years8230;

8226; We didn8217;t play well enough, that8217;s it.

Considering that they haven8217;t batted well enough, can you pinpoint the reasons for why this happened?

8226; Again, I don8217;t think this is the forum for me to make any comment in that regard. There is a lot of emotion, as I said, floating around the place. And in the light of recent incidents, I am not going to be making any comments about what8217;s wrong with anything or anybody.

Aren8217;t you shirking responsibility?

8226; No, I don8217;t think so. I am not employed by you people, I am employed by the BCCI. Obviously, I will have to face up to them and give them a report and give them some indications of what I think. But I don8217;t think this is the forum for me to say anything.

Another word which has been used very often is 8216;process8217;. Do you think the process was wrong or wasted on the wrong people?

8226; That8217;s an inflammatory question, one I8217;m not prepared to answer.

You said you are employed by the BCCI and you are answerable to them. But aren8217;t you also answerable to one billion fans in India? Shouldn8217;t you say something now?

8226; We didn8217;t play well enough.

Is that all?

8226; I don8217;t know what else you want me to say. You want me to criticise somebody or a group of people? I am not prepared to do that. We didn8217;t play well enough.

Is there a reason behind that?

8226; Yes, we weren8217;t able to play well enough under the conditions or under the circumstances of the tournament like this. We didn8217;t play well enough.

Why does it happen so often that we don8217;t play well enough?

8226; Well, I don8217;t think India has won a tournament overseas since 1985. There is a bit of a history to it. There are obviously some reasons. I am not prepared to go into them at this stage.

How critical was Sachin Tendulkar8217;s failure?

8226; I don8217;t think we can sheet the blame on to one individual, or a group of individuals, in this case. Everyone goes out there and tries to play well. Nobody goes out there and tries to play badly. I don8217;t know if we can pick on any one person and say it was their lack of form or lack of performance that was the reason. As a group, we didn8217;t play well enough.

Were you happy with the team that was picked for the World Cup?

8226; That8217;s not for me to say. I am given a team as a coach, I work with that team. And I was happy to work with this team.

How much responsibility are you willing to take for this defeat?

8226; Obviously, I have to take some responsibility and I am quite happy to do that, I8217;m the coach. But I don8217;t think the coaching staff alone should be blamed for what has happened here. The guys have worked very hard. The coaching staff, the support staff have worked very hard, the players have worked very hard. It didn8217;t work out on this occasion. To try and apportion blame is not going to change what has happened out there.

This is still India8217;s worst performance in World Cup history. Is there a need for serious introspection?

8226; I think there is cause for serious introspection, but I don8217;t think it should start today.

Do you believe it8217;s time for a change of guard?

8226; Again, that8217;s an inflammatory question. And you know very well that I can8217;t answer that question in this forum.

Are you taking anything from this World Cup?

8226; A lot of disappointment. Again, when we have time to look at this from a distance, maybe it will give us better perspective than walking straight off the field on what has been a disappointing day, and one of the more disappointing days in Indian cricket. I8217;m not sure we8217;re going to come up with any answers that will solve any problems or change what has happened out there today. But, as I said in the last answer, it8217;s time to sit down and take a serious look at what8217;s happening and what8217;s happened and see what may be done to improve things for the future.

Given a chance, would you like to stay with the Indian team?

8226; Not prepared to answer that question today. Again, it8217;s not my decision.

But what if you are given a chance?

8226; I haven8217;t been given a chance. So when I am given that opportunity, I will make an answer then.

Was there any problem with the team8217;s planning? Or, did anybody or a group fail to implement your plan?

8226; Look, I think the planning was fine, the preparation was good, but the execution on the day wasn8217;t good enough. I suppose, you8217;ve got to give some credit to Sri Lanka, they played well and they deserve their victory. We weren8217;t able to execute the plan as we would have liked to. That happens.

It8217;s happened probably more often that it should have.

We might lose, but after the Bangladesh match, we did not see any positive body language. Do you agree? Or do you think it would also be inflammatory?

8226; You are trying to put words in my mouth. They8217;re not my words and they wouldn8217;t be ones that I would use.

Did you also notice that the fire was missing in the team8217;s body language?

8226; The team was under pressure, I absolutely agree with that. I think that pressure did have a bearing on what happened out there today.

Are you going to go back with the Indian squad or are you worried about your security?

8226; I don8217;t think any comment about that is going to help the situation. I8217;m quite confident that systems are in place to look after the security of the team and the individuals involved.

You have been in charge of the Indian team since July 2005. On a scale of 1-10, how much would you give yourself?

8226; Again, that8217;s a very difficult question to answer. I8217;m happy that I8217;ve done the best job that I could do. I think 18 months is not a long time to build a team. If you look at any sport, it takes a long time to develop a team. And to put a number on it, from my point of view, I don8217;t think I am the right person to make that assessment other than to say that I am happy with myself. The coaching staff and the support staff did the best that they could do. It wasn8217;t good enough.