India slumped to a humiliating 125-run loss after the Shreyas Iyer-led side was bundled out for just 76 during the third T20I encounter against England. The result meant that India had not won a single game in the five-match series till then and could only tie the series if they won the two remaining games. Former India captain and head coach Anil Kumble was very disappointed with the performance and said that it was an ‘abject surrender’ by the team. He also heavily criticised the tactics used by the Indian batters to combat the raw pace of England’s fast-bowling duo, Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue.

“It was an abject surrender by the Indian team. You don’t expect a world champion side to cave in like that.”

“The Indian batters needed to show more patience and application, but everyone just tried to attack instead of absorbing the pressure. Yes, the required rate was over 10, but someone had to take responsibility and bat deep. Instead, they went the aggressive route and paid the price with a batting collapse,” Kumble said on JioHotStar.

Kumble also criticised the team management for their decision during the match and specifically pointed out the call to send Harshit Rana to bat ahead of Shivam Dube. The move did not work as both batters failed to score runs in the game.

“In T20 cricket, you put your best batters up front. Sending out Harshit Rana to bat ahead of a more complete batter like Shivam Dube was wrong. You can’t expect a number eight guy to win you a game by sending him to bat ahead of a proven guy. That’s not how things work in modern-day cricket.”

Kumble also advised the team management to stop making changes in every game when it comes to the bowlers.

“The Indian team has made too many changes to its lineup, and that needs to stop. The bowlers keep changing. Prasidh Krishna was dropped after one bad game against Ireland. Prince Yadav came in, bowled well, and picked three wickets in the second T20I, but India still lost that game. As a new captain, you need to stick with your five bowlers. Batters will score runs, but bowlers win you matches.”

“When you pick players, you need to keep backing them. Ups and downs are part and parcel of life. They keep happening, but that doesn’t mean failures end up with you getting dropped from the squad.”

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