Indian cricketer Shardul Thakur shared some insights about India’s successful trip to Australia in 2020-21. He mentioned that the team didn’t get good support from Cricket Australia. Thakur described the treatment they received as “horrible” and said that the then-India captain, Ajinkya Rahane, and coach, Ravi Shastri, often had disagreements with Cricket Australia because the team didn’t get proper facilities. Thakur also mentioned that some negative comments were made about India, and even called the then-Australia Test captain, Tim Paine, a liar.
During a public event, Shardul Thakur expressed his emotions about India’s famous victory at The Gabba in Brisbane. India won the four-match Test series 2-1.
“They treated us really badly,” Thakur explained. “For four or five days, the hotel didn’t provide any cleaning service. If we needed to change the bedsheets, we had to climb five flights of stairs even when we were tired,” he added.
Thakur mentioned that the Governor of Queensland had mentioned that Australia wasn’t pleased about having India stay. He then dismissed an interview by Tim Paine.
“I listened to an interview with Tim Paine. He was definitely not telling the truth, just trying to protect himself by saying things in the media,” Thakur mentioned. “But I know what really happened – Virat (Kohli) had gone, and Ajinkya Rahane and Ravi Shastri were constantly arguing with Cricket Australia to get what we needed,” he continued.
Thakur noted that the Indian players’ reaction after winning the game was unusual. India managed to win the series even though Virat Kohli missed the last three Tests and there were several injury worries. In the final Test in Brisbane, India successfully chased a huge target of 329.
“For the first time, we didn’t even glance at the Australians after winning. We wanted to say to them, ‘Go back to your dressing rooms’,” Thakur explained.
