Legendary West Indies batsman Vivian Richards feels that India's shocking first round exit from the cricket World Cup was due to their lack of mental toughness.
ST PETER'S: Legendary West Indies batsman Vivian Richards feels that India's shocking first round exit from the cricket World Cup was due to their lack of mental toughness.
"Modern day cricket is all about power and mental strength and the team hoping to win the World Cup must have these qualities," Richards said.
Speaking to Indian reporters at the newly built stadium named after him, Richards said, "You have a very talented side, but are they mentally tough? When you see Australia you see not one but 11 mentally strong players which will naturally create problems for any other team. It's all about how tough you are," he said.
The former West Indies skipper, however, refused to comment on Sachin Tendulkar's future when asked about what it looked like in the batting maestro's case.
"I am not going to say anything on this. I will not speak or make a case for any individual player. But, I am disappointed Tendulkar couldn't score much and feel sad for all the fans at home."
Richards also defended coach Greg Chappell saying that he alone should not be blamed for India's early exit from the World Cup.
"It's a collective responsibility. All the batsmen failed, you can't blame him alone," said the twice World Cup winner, considered to be cricket's most destructive player.
He lavished praise on Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and said, "Look at him when he is batting. His bat is like a door when he is set. That is what the youngsters should be learning."
"It is going to be very tough out there and you need to perform," he said while side-stepping a question on whether players be selected on the basis of their past records.
"Well I will not answer that question, you will have to tell me which player or players you are referring to."
He agreed that any player can have an "off day", but at such level of competition "you can't have too many off days".
"In World cup, upsets are expected and India's early exit can be termed as an upset. When a team fails it is collective failure because cricket is a team game, no one indvidual is responsible for win or defeat in this sport." he said.
The West Indian great was of the view that the Cup was still wide open though Australians are in good form.
"Australia will meet with stiff resistance from other teams, it is not going to be that easy for them," Richards predicted.
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