In his first official press briefing in Birmingham ahead of the Champions Trophy, the Indian skipper was grilled again on the crisis but maintained his stand of not taking questions on the issue, saying only that he wanted to shield his squad and would answer only when the time was "right". Excerpts...
On being in England
It's good to be out of there. It's always good to come here and play some cricket. The weather now, since we landed yesterday evening, has not been really nice.
On the team's mood
It's fantastic.
On whether it's important for India to do well to silence critics
It's an ongoing process. There is always something that keeps coming across. A few of them will ask questions and a few of them, you have to silence them. It's not really important from my side. (What is important) is to see what kind of a squad we've got and to see if it's a fresh bunch of players.
On whether the Champions Trophy offers an opportunity to restore Indian cricket's reputation
It's not that the reputation is gone. When the right time comes I'll answer, but as of now I don't think we have lost reputation because whatever the setup throughout the world or in any sport, you'll have people who will be slightly mentally weak compared to some of the others. I'd love to elaborate but at the right time I'll do it.
On whether Ravindra Jadeja can be effective in England
We are hopeful but the conditions are very different compared to the subcontinent. We'll have see how it works, what the composition of the side is, what kind of bowlers we want to feature. With the new rules we'll be forced to play with five bowlers and Jadeja has done really well for us, giving us the balance that's needed. We are hoping that he does well because it will be a great asset.
On whether the Champions Trophy should be continued with
It's a difficult one to answer because there's a lot at stake when it comes to the bilateral series and also the ICC tournaments. So I think it's just a measure to get slightly out of the too many ICC tournaments that's happening. Champions Trophy is always a tough tournament.
On whether faith of the fans will be restored if India win the CT
I'm a person that lives in the present, so I don't really believe in imagination. What I believe is in doing stuff right.
On why he said "it's good to be out of there"...
Well, you know, you're just forcing me to answer a few things...when the time comes I will answer. I just want to keep our side away from everything as of now.
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