Sunil Gavaskar, a former captain of India, criticised the English cricket team for their lacklustre performance in the Ashes 2025–26, claiming that the team’s strategy gave the impression that they didn’t care about the outcome. By the time they had relinquished the series, the Australians had thoroughly defeated England, with their lone victory occurring in the fourth Test of the series.
According to Gavaskar, neutral supporters were not surprised by the Ben Stokes-led team’s difficulties, especially considering how difficult it is already to defeat Australia in Australia. The manner the Three Lions handled significant situations disappointed him.
When compared to the reviews their teams receive from individuals who have rarely, if ever, participated in any high-level sport, England’s results in the majority of sports are a major disappointment.
Therefore, when the teams demonstrate that they are more paper tigers than actual ones, the disappointment is much greater,” Gavaskar said in his Sportstar column.
The renowned pundit also criticised the term “Bazball” and the style of cricket played by the English squad under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. Although their new approach was thrilling at first, the opposing teams eventually outplayed it.
“McCullum surprised the rest of the cricket world by bringing the same freshness to England’s cricket. The gloomy, boring cricket they used to play had vanished, and all of a sudden the opposition had no idea how to counter it. But the surprise faded off, just like with mystery bowlers. As Gavaskar said, “the problems became evident once teams realised that England had little answer whenever the ball deviated, provided the pitches were not flat.”
The legendary Indian batsman did not hold back when criticising England’s mentality. Gavaskar claimed that English players, with the exception of Joe Root, did not respect their wickets enough and appeared to bat without adapting to the circumstances of the match.
“The batters refused to alter their strategy and bat in accordance with the circumstances because their media made excuses for them regarding pitches while they were abroad. There is just no fear of being left out because the administration also ignores some of the batters’ awful and careless shots. He said, “Only the great Joe Root values playing for your country and putting a minimum price of a century on your wicket.”
In the Ashes 2025–26, Australia humiliated England 4-1. Even though they played better in the final two games, the series was already over.
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