Kevin Pietersen attacked England players after Ravi Shastri claimed that they took part in only one training session throughout the ODI series against India. Former England captain Kevin Pietersen tore into England players, blaming them for ‘disrespecting Indian conditions and India’ after suffering a 3-0 whitewash in the ODI series.
Team India produced a solid performance in the third and final ODI of the series against England, registering a comprehensive 142-run win in Ahmedabad to secure a 3-0 series win. England endured a tough outing throughout the series, facing largely one-sided defeats in all three matches; to make it worse, former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was on commentary duties in the final ODI, revealed that England players took part in only one practice session throughout the series.
England’s spin woes in India
England’s weakness against spin was exploited by the Indian spinners throughout the tour as Varun Chakravarthy spun a web around them during the T20I series. He scalped 14 wickets from five matches and won the Player of the Series award. In ODIs, they failed to read the variations of Ravindra Jadeja who choked them in the middle overs in the first two matches, picking six wickets.
Hence, after a 0-3 whitewash in ODIs, England have a herculean task to work on their spin woes ahead of the Champions Trophy which will be played on the spin-friendly surfaces of Dubai and Pakistan. The Jos Buttler-led side doesn’t have much time on its hands as they start their campaign on February 22 against Australia.
Former England captain, Kevin Pietersen and former India head coach Ravi Shastri blasted England for not holding enough practice sessions on the tour of India.
Former England captain, Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Shastri blasted England for not holding practice sessions an playing golf during their tour in 2025
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen lashed out at the England team for holding very few practice sessions on the ongoing tour of India. England batters struggled against the potent Indian spinners throughout the tour as they lost both the T20I and ODI series. Alongside Pietersen, Former India cricketer Ravi Shastri also weighed in on the same, slamming England for an unserious approach.
Former Seeing the Jos Buttler-led side once again capitulate against the Indian spinners during the third ODI in Ahmedabad. Shastri made a shocking revelation that England held just one practice session throughout the tour. The former India head coach also questioned the commitment of the team to improve. England held just two practice sessions on the tour, one during the T20I series and one during the ODI series.
Cricketers Ravi Shastri and Kevin Pietersen lambasted England over reports that they had only one net session since arriving in India. The reactions came on air during the third ODI against India on Wednesday (Feb. 12) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad as the tourists were on their way to another defeat.
Having suffered a 4-1 defeat in the T20I leg, the 50-over series was an opportunity for England to gain some momentum ahead of Champions Trophy 2025. Instead, India outplayed them across facets in all three ODIs, causing England to suffer a series whitewash.
Ex-England captain Kevin Pietersen observed that Tom Banton, who had arrived from Dubai ahead of the third ODI, hadn’t practiced and spent time playing golf. He elaborated, as quoted by India Today:
“The 2-hour flight from Dubai across here. He (Tom Banton) was on the golf course yesterday. He wasn’t batting, and where have the issues come? The start, 1 for 60, 2 for 80. And then, what happens? None of them can play spin. And how do you improve playing spin?”
Before that, Shastri stressed that the visitors must be prepared to do the hard yards if they want to be better, claiming:
“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.”
The Englishmen struggled with similar problems in all three ODIs, especially on the batting front, unable to find momentum in the middle overs and players throwing away wickets after promising starts. The bowlers equally struggled despite chopping and changing the line-up for all three games.
At the post-match presentation, visiting skipper Jos Buttler lamented their failure to keep threatening India consistently and observed how familiar a story it has been for them. Buttler stated:
“Similar to the whole tour, we threatened in stages but were outplayed by a fantastic team. Our approach is the right one, it’s just that we haven’t executed well. We need to find ways to play that style better.”
“They put a really good score on the board. Shubman played a great innings, we were going to have to play really well to chase that down. We got off to a great start again but it’s a familiar story for us. We need to find a way to extend that, and bat for longer.”
The Englishmen’s Champions Trophy campaign kicks off on February 22 against Australia in Lahore.