Brendon McCullum HITS BACK At Ravi Shastri, Kevin Pietersen's Shocking 'No Training' Claims During ODI Series Vs India
Photo : AP
England recently were completely decimated by India in the three-match ODI series, as they were whitewashed by a margin of 3-0. Ravi Shastri, who was on commentary during the 3rd ODI revealed that England had just one net session in the entire series. Kevin Pietersen also slammed the England team for not practicing enough during the series, which ultimately led them to being defeated by hefty margins during the series. Now head coach Brendon McCullum has hit back at both Shastri and Pietersen's claims.
In an interaction with Talksport, Brendon McCullum said that the statements that the England team do not train are factually incorrect.
“Firstly, it’s factually incorrect, the whole statement that we don’t train. We’ve trained plenty right throughout, and guys have come from a lot of cricket as well. I think it’s an easy thing to have as a throwaway line that guys don’t train enough when the results aren’t right," the head coach said.
McCullum also said that injuries in their camp just before a big event like the Champions Trophy 2025 also affected their performance. For context, young batter Jacob Bethell was ruled out of the squad due to injuries, with Tom Banton being drafed in at the last minute as is replacement.
"We’ve got a style and a method that we believe in. We’ve got guys who are battling injuries and trying to make sure that we’ve got enough bodies out on the field, knowing that we’ve got a huge assignment coming up in a week or two. Ultimately it’s factually incorrect what’s been said and we’ll stay true to what we believe in," McCullum added.
Not Quite True: Jos Buttler On Shatri, Pietersen's No-Training Claims
England captain Jos Buttler also refuted the claims of the team not training by the likes of Ravi Shastri and Kevin Pietersen. He revealed that while there have been times where they might have not trained, but they have done plenty of training throughout the India tour.
"I'm not sure that's quite true. I think we've had a reasonably long tour, a few long travel days... there have been a couple of times we've not trained but we've certainly done plenty of training throughout the tour. We obviously try to create a really good environment but don't mistake that for a lazy environment or a lack of effort. The guys are desperate to perform, do well and improve,” the England skipper said.
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