Outgoing Team India head coach Ravi Shastri, when asked about the learnings that he and the team would take from the poor performance at the ICC T20 World Cup, said that the players were in desperate need of some “rest” and that he has been feeling “mentally drained” due to constantly staying in bubbles. He also said that the players are physically drained and said that he would have ideally likes a longer gap between the Indian Premier League’s UAE leg and the T20 World Cup. Most of the Indian players were playing in the league that came to an end on October 15.

“I am mentally drained but I expect that at my age. These guys are physically and mentally drained, six months in a bubble and we would have ideally liked a bigger gap between the IPL and the World Cup. It’s when the big games come and when the pressure hits you – you are not that switched on as you should be. And it’s not an excuse,” Shastri said.

He also said that the “X-factor” was missing from the team in the crucial matches against Pakistan and New Zealand. India lost to Pakistan by 10 wickets and then suffered an 8-wicket defeat at the hands of New Zealand.

“We take defeat because we are not scared of losing. Because in trying to win, you will lose a game. Here we didn’t try to win because that X-factor was missing,” Shastri added.