Shattered Indians depart--bruised &better

THEIR WORLD Cup dreams shattered and personal reputa- tions in tatters, the Indian cricket team hit the home route with heavy hearts and full of apprehension about a possible backlash from dejected fans. It was a gloomy Tuesday noon when the team lined up outside the hotel here for de- parture to the airport when a fan approached them for auto- graphs. "Don't tell me you still need our autographs," sighed Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dhoni, whose under-con- struction house in Ranchi came under attack, could well imag- ine the kind of reception await- ing the team and it was of little consolation when the fan said, "You cricketers are heroes and would remain heroes." It only deflated Dhoni further and the stumper said, "We are down, don't break us even more." Near him stood his good friend Irfan Pathan, who sport- ed a different profile from the one with which he had come to the West Indies last month. Pathan now has his head shaved and such a barren pro- file was an indication that the left-arm pacer was willing to resume his career from the scratch. Somewhere down the corri- dor was Ajit Agarkar who made a telling, poignant re- mark: "It's the first time when we really are in no hurry to go back home. Usually, we look forward to a tour finishing quickly so that we can return home. But this is different." Elsewhere, skipper Rahul Dravid was looking surprising- ly relaxed, a person who per- haps has come to terms with In- dia's debacle. A pragmatic man, Dravid, it seems, has lost little time in regaining his poise. Coach Greg Chappell ap- peared with his wife Judy, the Indian board's blazer flung carelessly across his forearm. A kind of symbiotic relation- ship that many believe would- n't work for long.