India's Sachin Tendulkar (right) speaks with former coach Greg Chappell during a practice session last year. Chappell handed in his resignation yesterday, two days before the Indian cricket board meet to analyse the team's poor World Cup performance in the Caribbean. Leading India batsmanSachin Tendulkar also reacted angrily that Chappell had questioned the attitude of senior players at the World Cup and his comments set off a national debate. - Reuters

NEW DELHI (AP):

INDIAN BATSMAN Sachin Tendulkar says he had been hurt by comments from the team's former Australian coach about the players' poor attitudes, a news report said yesterday.

India's disastrous showing in crashing out of the World Cup in the first round has prompted experts to call for a change of guard, and for senior players such as Tendulkar to make way for younger talent.

Recent news reports quoted the team's Australian coach, Greg Chappell, who resigned his post yesterday, as saying senior players had poor attitudes that were part of the reason for their dismal performance.

Gave all to indian cricket

"I've given my heart and soul to Indian cricket for 17 years," Tendulkar said in an emotional interview published in The Times of India. "No coach has mentioned, even in passing, that my attitude was not correct."

The Indian team lost to Bangladesh in its opening match and was then knocked out of the tournament by Sri Lanka.

Despite Tendulkar's record for the most World Cup runs - more than 1,700 in some 33 matches - he had a disastrous tournament this year, his fifth World Cup. He was out for a duck against Sri Lanka in a must-win game that India lost by 69 runs.

"I'm shattered beyond words," Tendulkar said. "World Cup was our passion, our collective dream."

He said everyone discusses the defeat - but, "Has anyone thought to ask us what we are going through?"

In the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, where India lost to Australia in the final, Tendulkar had been declared the Player of the Tournament and won the Man-of- the-Match award three times.

However, injuries have plagued and slowed down Tendulkar, 34, over the past two years. He had surgery last year to repair a tear in his right shoulder.

Millions of people adore India's cricket players, who areamong the world's highest-paid cricketers. Yet, the players also face flak when they fail to live up the expectations of fans - whose dejection occasionally erupts into violence.