Indian cricket team returns after worst tour of Australia in 45 years

Outplayed on the field and dogged by persistent reports of a rift in the team, the demoralised and jaded Indian cricketers left for home today after the worst tour of Australia in the last 45 years.As soon as Sri Lanka pipped Australia at the post in Melbourne last night, the Indian players started making their reservation plans to return home after a long and gruelling tour during which most of the players struggled to perform.The players with bases in Mumbai and south India --Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin and the entire support staff -- took a morning flight to Singapore where they would board respective connecting flights to Mumbai and Chennai.Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar and Rahul Sharma left Brisbane this afternoon, again for Singapore where they would take the flight to Delhi.Irfan Pathan and Parthiv Patel, with bases in Gujarat, will leave for home tomorrow.The Indians were not exactly glued in front of their TV screens yesterday to watch the outcome of the Australia-Sri Lanka match which the latter won by nine runs in the final over.The Indians were whitewashed 0-4 in the Test series and won just three matches, tied one and lost four during the subsequent tri-series which had Sri Lanka and Australia as the two other teams.The last time the Indians suffered a 0-4 whitewash on Australian soil was in 1967-68. Twice they had lost a five-match series 0-4 in Australia -- in 1947-48 and 1991-92. This was the third whitewash Down Under.