Kirti Azad questions cricketers' commitment to nation

Slamming the national cricket team for yet another disastrous Test series loss abroad, former India cricketer Kirti Azad today questioned the passion of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men for longer version of the game as well as their commitment towards the nation.
"It appears that our cricketers have lost passion for the game and commitment towards the country in the manner they have played the Test series in England, losing tamely to the hosts (1-3)," Azad told reporters here.
The same bunch of our cricketers have always given their best while playing for their franchise in Indian Premier League (IPL) season after season, but when it came to playing with passion for the country their inadequacies have been exposed thoroughly," Azad, who was a member of 1983 World Cup winning team, said.

Azad, a member of Lok Sabha from Darbhanga parliamentary constituency, also disapproved the BCCI's bid to arrest further slide in fortunes of national cricket team by appointing former skipper Ravi Shastri as the Director of the touring team for one-day series and said the step appeared to be a 'patch work' only.
"A patch work can only hide cracks in the wall and not fix the problem on permanent basis," the former cricketer said, adding that Shastri's appointment as the team director may work temporarily, but it can not address the ills plaguing the national team for years.
On the debate raging over Dhoni's dismissal or resignation on his own in the wake of Team India's yet another Test series loss abroad under his leadership, Azad disgreed with chorus for the skipper's head and said that he should be allowed to choose the timing of his retirement given his contributions to the national team.