'You can't just attend press conferences after victories' - Mohammed Azharuddin criticizes Kohli and Shastri's absence in NZ presser

India had a terrible outing against New Zealand during their second match of the T20 World Cup 2021 as they slipped to an eight-wicket loss. As soon as India went through an embarrassing defeat, a post-match press conference followed up which was attended by pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Talking in the same line of events, former Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin has slammed Ravi Shastri for not showing up publicly after unwanted results.

Azharuddin stated that Shastri should have come up to answer the questions posed by the media and should have taken responsibility. If Kohli doesn’t want to come that is fine but Shastri’s absence was just not acceptable, added the former skipper. He also pointed out the fact that one cannot always attend pressers after victories and that these instances should also be handled gracefully.

“In my view, the coach should have come for the press conference. If Virat Kohli doesn’t want to attend the press conference, that’s fine. But, Ravi (Shastri) bhai should’ve attended the press conference. You can’t just attend press conferences after victories, you must give an explanation for defeats too. Sending Bumrah for the press conference was not right. Either the captain or the coach should have come for the presser or someone from the coaching staff,” said Azharuddin while speaking to ABP news.

If you lose a game or two, there’s nothing to be ashamed of: Mohammed Azharuddin

The former cricketer added that there is no shame in losing a match or two but taking responsibility remains vital and one cannot expect Bumrah to answer all the questions thrown at the press conference around the team’s performance. One should be equally ready to step forward during the rough phase, concluded Azharuddin.

“If you lose a game or two, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. But the captain or the coach must come and explain to the nation why the team lost. How can you expect Bumrah to answer these questions? If you are ready to face the media when the team wins then you should also step forward when your team is going through a rough phase,” he added.