New Delhi: England, heading towards a humiliating whitewash on the India tour, got an earful from seasoned commentators Ravi Shastri and Kevin Pietersen, who lambasted the visiting players for not giving respect to the game. During England’s chase of a mammoth 357-run target, Ravi Shastri questioned the commitment of the English cricketers, slamming them for not practicing enough to prepare for the matches on the India tour.
“From what I’ve heard, England have had just one net session this entire trip, if not any. If you’re not prepared to do the hard yards, you’re not going to improve,” Shastri said on air.
A few balls later, Pietersen, one of the best English cricketers of all time, confirmed the comments made by Shastri by stating on-air: “Only Joe Root has had a net in the past week or two. Tom Banton arrived and spent the pre-match day playing golf.”
England’s commitment questioned
Both commentators questioned the commitment of the English players and said this should have been the chance to improve the Indian conditions ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan and UAE, where conditions will be somewhat similar to India.
None of the English players reportedly took part in any net session ahead of the second and third ODI in Cuttack and Ahmedabad barring Joe Root, who was the only one to practice ahead of 2nd ODI.
This is not the first time Pietersen has come down heavily on England players. Ahead of the third ODI in Ahmedabad, Pietersen criticised England opener Ben Duckett over his remarks on the ODI series in India. After India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series following the win in Cuttack, Duckett said that England won’t mind losing 0-3 as long as they beat India in the Champions Trophy final. Pietersen responded strongly on social media and slammed Duckett for the comments.
Meanwhile, India completed a dominant 3-0 series win in what was the dress rehearsal series for the ICC Champions Trophy. The Men In Blue thrashed England by 142 runs in Ahmedabad to complete their second biggest win in terms of runs against England.
England cricketers’ commitment is question as the Three Lions suffer a humiliating 3-0 whitewash against India ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
