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England head coach Brendon McCullum responds to assertions that the Jos Buttler-led side did not take their practice sessions seriously during their tour of India, calling such an approach "factually incorrect." After England's humiliating loss in both the ODI and T20I series, losing 3-0 and 4-1, respectively sparked a lot of debate about their training outlook and perspective.
McCullum said that the statement is factually incorrect as the side trained plenty throughout. He further stated it's an easy criticism for players when results are not favourable.
Speaking to talkSPORT, McCullum refused all these claims after England’s 142-run defeat in the last ODI. "Firstly, it's factually incorrect, the whole statement that we don't train. We've trained plenty throughout. Many of our players have come from a lot of cricket as well. It's an easy criticism to say players don't train enough when results aren't going our way", he said.
"We've got guys battling injuries, trying to ensure we have enough fit bodies on the field, knowing we have a huge assignment coming up. We'll stay true to what we believe in."
During the third ODI, Pietersen and Ravi Shastri claimed that England’s players, apart from Joe Root, had not practised in the nets during the series. England prepared ahead of the first ODI in Nagpur, they did not perform net sessions before the second and third matches in Cuttack and Ahmedabad.
Despite the white ball series loss against India, McCullum believes that the team is incredibly talented and if they wil get some confidence that talent will flourish.
"I've learned a lot," he said. "Our players are incredibly talented. If we can add craft and build confidence, that talent will flourish. The results are disappointing, but there’s much to take forward."
After finishing the ODI series against India, England will travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025 which is scheduled to start from February 19. England will start their campaign against arch-rivals Australia on February 22 at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
