As India struggle to make an impact against England in the third consecutive test, former captain Sourav Ganguly has urged fans and critics to show some patience and insisted that sweeping changes were not needed.
“I agree with the criticism, and let us accept we were very ordinary. The worst day was Thursday. I have not seen an Indian team like this in the last 10 years,” Ganguly was quoted as, saying by The Independent.
Ganguly said that the Indian team was ‘not prepared’ ahead of the England tour, as it had played only one practice match before the start of the series.
“I have felt that when we guys from the subcontinent went to England, Australia or South Africa we needed two warm-up games. And look at England in Australia a few months ago, they had three proper warm-up games and had other guys out there as well on standby,” Ganguly said.
Ganguly said this was the first series in a long time, where India had done so poorly.
“It is just one of those series that haven't gone well for India. “But, yes, it is disappointing because I can tell you that, as Indians, we really look forward to this tour. People like Dravid and Tendulkar take a lot of pride in performing over here. Test cricket matters to us. Indian people still want their team to be No 1 in Test cricket. The World Cup is special for any country. But Test cricket is the format of the game,” he said.
Ganguly, however, said that there was no need to cut down on the IPL, so that players do not suffer ‘burn outs’. He also indicated that the Indian team in its current mindset would struggle to avoid a 4-0 whitewash in the series.
