What They Said About

'You should not be embarrassing your country'

Former players react to India's humiliating 1-3 series defeat in England

18-Aug-2014
Geoffrey Boycott: "The Indian batsmen were like lambs to the slaughter."  •  AFP

Geoffrey Boycott: "The Indian batsmen were like lambs to the slaughter."  •  AFP

"If you do not want to be playing Test cricket for India, quit. Just play limited-overs cricket. You should not be embarrassing your country like that."
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar
"It's a disgrace to think that India have been blown away in 29 overs under blue skies on a pitch that was only doing a bit. They should be embarrassed. Some of those strokes were of players who didn't want to fight for their country."
Former England captain Michael Vaughan
"India were pathetic when they had to bat and bowl on two seaming, swinging pitches at Old Trafford and The Oval... The Indian batsmen were like lambs to the slaughter."
Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott
"Dhoni led the team poorly. His selection policy, strategy, field placing and bowling changes lacked commonsense ... Unfortunately for him and India, he had Duncan Fletcher as the coach who, it seems, is devoid of any ideas and has no clue as to how to turn things around."
Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar
"The support staff and the think tank really let down the team very badly. I hope the BCCI sacks them immediately unless they go once again by what the senior players in the team feel about them" he said.
"I'm not happy with his keeping and captaincy. He's 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."
Former India captain Gundappa Viswanath
"I am surprised these youngsters did not change their technique which a player like (Alastair) Cook did after England's defeat at Lord's by standing a few feet outside the crease to counter Bhuvneshwar Kumar's swing bowling."
Former India captain Chandu Borde
"What was 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."
Former India captain Ajit Wadekar
"I am categorically saying that Fletcher's contribution to the team was a big zero."
Former India offspinner Erapalli Prasanna
"The first people to take [Narendra] Modi's speech seriously is the Indian cricket team. Their runs will now only be Made in India."
Indian politician Digvijaya Singh, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent call to strengthen India's manufacturing sector