India’s shambolic show in the five-Test series against England has not gone down well with some of the finest practitioners of the game. Here’s what they said...
Ajinkya Rahane walks back to the pavilion after his dismissal for four on Sunday. PIC/Bipin Patel
Nasser Hussain
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I will give Gautam Gambhir one out of 10 for his performance in England. Only he is to be blamed for his run out at The Oval. He never looked confident at all. He only wanted to take that single, which was never there, to avoid Jimmy Anderson
Dilip Doshi
When we played for India, we were prepared to even give a leg for our country. But that pride is missing in this team. I’d like to ask them why are they playing for India. If it is for the money then they should leave right away and take up a career in business, but please stop treating cricket like a business. They were never confident against seam bowling and if you don’t know how to face seam bowling, you cannot come to England
Gundappa Viswanath
I am not happy with MS Dhoni’s wicket-keeping and his captaincy. He has got his own mind. He always keeps repeating that. He always expects a miracle. Miracles cannot happen all the time. It happens once in a blue moon
Sunil Gavaskar
Even till two days ago, I was defending the team. But you see them today, they have made the same mistakes over and over again. It means the team is not learning. Do they care about it? I don’t know. Most of these players have played in South Africa, New Zealand and England. How much of a rope do you give a young player? I think somewhere down the line some firm decisions have to be taken. I don’t know if they will be taken
Sourav Ganguly
There have to be some harsh decisions. The selectors’ outlook has to change — when you pick your players, when you identify talent, these are the things you have to look for: who gets runs for you in difficult circumstances, who gets runs for you when the chips are down, who gets runs for you when you are 50-5
Dilip Vengsarkar
Of late the BCCI is not giving much importance to Test cricket. It was evident from the fact that there was hardly any preparation for the tour. Besides, the itinerary was poorly drawn as there were no side games either before the Test series or in-between the Tests. That did not allow out of form players to fight back
Ajit Wadekar
What was coach Duncan Fletcher doing after we won the Lord’s Test on a difficult pitch? This is where he lacked imagination in keeping the lead. Yes, I think Fletcher has to go. Skipper MS Dhoni changed his technique and batted well. But why he did not change his tactics as captain foxes me
Geoffrey Boycott
Gautam never looked calm, or composed. He was like a terrified tortoise. How can he open the innings?
Shane Warne
England went on to improve after the Lord’s Test defeat while India only went down and down after that win. I cannot understand their priorities
With inputs from Debasish Datta in London and agencies
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