Indian fast bowler Shardul Thakur has opened up about the mistreatment meted out to the Indian team by the hosts during the 2020-21 tour of Australia. India had registered a famous 2-1 series win on that tour to secure their second consecutive Test series win on Australian soil.
The series had started on a disastrous note for Team India. Australia They had been bowled out for just 36 runs in the second innings of the first Test and went on to win the game by 8 wickets. With captain Virat Kohli leaving the team after the first Test to be with his pregnant wife, India was between a rock and a hard place.
Mohammed Shami was also ruled out of the series after suffering a fractured arm in the first Test. Not many expected Team India to even challenge the Australians in the remaining three Tests, let alone win the series. However, the Indian team staged a remarkable comeback and showed extraordinary resilience to win the series 2-1.
India won the second Test in Melbourne by 8 wickets before securing a memorable draw in the third Test in Sydney. In the fourth Test, the Ajinkya Rahane-led side beat Australia by 3 wickets at the Gabba to complete a remarkable series win.
More than three years after the famous win, Shardul Thakur has revealed how badly the Australians treated the team during the tour. The Mumbai star called the treatment horrendous while recalling the tour.
He also recalled the Queensland government’s response after the Indian team expressed their unwillingness to comply with a 14-day quarantine in Brisbane. Queensland Health Minister Ros Bates had said: “If Indians don’t want to comply with the rules, don’t come.”
“The treatment we received was horrible. For four or five days there was no housekeeping service at the hotel. If you wanted to change the bedsheets, you had to climb four or five flights of stairs to get them,” Shardul Thakur said at a recent event.
“When you are tired, come, change, do what you want. On the trip from Sydney to Brisbane, we also heard the governor of Queensland say that if Indians don’t want to come here, well, then don’t come. We don’t want to receive them or we are not happy to receive them,” he added.
Tim Paine was flat out lying: Shardul Thakur
Shardul Thakur also criticised former Australia captain Tim Paine and accused him of lying. He also said that head coach Ravi Shastri and captain Ajinkya Rahane were in a constant tussle with Cricket Australia to get things that the team needed.
“A lot of negative things were said about us to put pressure on us. I heard some interviews of Tim Paine. That man was blatantly lying because he was just saving himself by making up things in the media and hiding the fact that we did not put pressure on the Indian team and that we gave them everything they wanted,” Shardul Thakur said.
“But I know the truth. Our coach, Ravi Shastri, Virat had left and Ajinkya was in charge. Both of them were constantly fighting with the Australian cricket board to get what we wanted,” he added.
Shardul Thakur in 2020-21 BGT in Australia:🗣️-
Shame on you Australians and Australian cricket! @CricketAus 🤬
Always grateful to the Captain @ImRo45 for owning Australia👏🇮🇳
— ⁴⁵ (@rushiii_12) August 6, 2024
