NEW DELHI(PTI): Aug.31, the entire Indian Cricket team was solidly behind Captain Muhammad Azharuddin on the recent tour of Sn Lanka, tour manager group Capt Gajendra Singh Shaktawat said. He said Azharuddin had the “full backing of the entire squad, on the field and off the field and the question of his losing control over the team never arose.”

He dismissed as “absolute rubbish” a statement to this effect made by Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga to a sports magazine and said all the players and officials, without exception, were sol idly behind Azharuddin in every decision he took. “For that matter, even vice-captain Sachin Tendulkar had the full support of all the players and officials when he officiated in the absence of the captain,” Shaktawat said. He said it was a “hard series,” to win and the Indian team did overcome the odds with greater under Standing among themselves, On the one day series, Shaktawat said all the players did well in the lest series, “After winning the test series, they strangely seemed to allow themselves to be lulled into complacency and allowed the Sri Lankans lo get on top,” he said.

Article extracted from this publication >>  September 3, 1993