Azhar blames team selection but defends Greg for India's poor show

Ahmedabad, Mar 28 (UNI) Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin today blamed team selection for Team India's early exit from the World Cup but defended coach Greg Chappel for the debacle.

He said, ''the coach can only guide, but the players have to go and fight it out in the middle.'' ''The team should take the reponsibility. It is sad that India had to exit early but the selection was not right. One cannot hope to perform well without a strong team,'' he told reporters on the sidelines of a function.

He however, refused to elaborate on what was wrong with the team's selection. When asked if senior players should be retained, he said ''it was upto the selectors to decide.'' India have been eliminated in the first round of the ongoing World Cup in West Indies after losing two out of three group matches, to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Their only win came against debutants Bermuda.

UNI