'We trained well throughout': Jos Buttler refutes Ravi Shastri's criticism
What's the story
England cricket team captain, Jos Buttler, has defended his team's training regimen during their tour of India. This comes after former Indian coach Ravi Shastri criticized the English side for not putting enough effort into their preparations. Shastri had said that England had only one net session throughout the entire trip. India routed England 3-0 in the ODI series after claiming a big win in Ahmedabad.
Performance review
England lose ODI series post T20I leg
England's performance in India was abysmal. They were swept in the three-ODI series following a 1-4 defeat in T20Is. It was reported that the team skipped several training sessions before the 2nd and 3rd ODIs in Cuttack and Ahmedabad. They had a session before the series opener in Nagpur, however. Shastri pointed out this lack of training during his commentary for the 3rd ODI, which India won by 142 runs.
Captain's defense
Buttler defends England's training regimen
Responding to Shastri's remarks, Buttler said, "I'm not sure that's quite true, to be honest. We had a reasonably long tour, a few long travel days. There's been a couple of times we've not trained, but we've certainly done plenty of training throughout the tour." He added that while they aim for an excellent environment in the team, it shouldn't be confused with laziness or lack of effort.
Training details
Pietersen also slams England's preparation
Ahead of the 1st T20I between India and England in Kolkata, the visitors had a few training sessions. England even had a session each in Chennai and Rajkot before the 2nd and 3rd T20Is. However, no sessions were conducted prior to the 4th and 5th T20Is in Pune and Mumbai respectively. This lack of practice was also slammed by former England player Kevin Pietersen.
Tour reflection
Buttler acknowledges missed opportunities during India tour
However, Buttler admitted England didn't capitalize on key moments on the tour. He said, "It's probably a bit of a similar theme from this series and the whole tour. We had a couple of moments in the game, but never enough to go on and force a result or win against a really good team." Despite these setbacks, he hoped their in-form batter Ben Duckett would recover from a groin injury before the Champions Trophy starts on February 19.