Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has criticized the England cricket team for making excuses instead of addressing their repeated failures in white-ball cricket. England’s latest setback came in an eight-run defeat to Afghanistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, a result that officially ended their hopes of reaching the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals.
Gavaskar, speaking on The Dressing Room show, took aim at England’s tendency to blame external factors rather than acknowledging their shortcomings. “They will still come and start moaning the next morning. See, they cannot lose. If they lose, there has to be an excuse, and the excuse cannot be that they weren’t better that day or that the other team was better. They will start blaming everything,” he said.
England’s struggles in limited-overs cricket have been mounting, with three disappointing tournaments in a row exposing issues such as a lack of accountability, inconsistent team selection, and a struggling batting unit. Under new white-ball coach Brendon McCullum, England had already suffered a 0-3 series defeat to India before heading into the Champions Trophy, adding to the pressure on captain Jos Buttler and the coaching staff.
Amid their struggles, former England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton have also questioned the tournament’s hybrid model, which allows India to play all their matches in Dubai while the rest of the tournament is hosted in Pakistan.
Atherton highlighted India’s advantage, stating on Sky Sports, “They’re playing at just one venue. They don’t have to travel between venues or between countries as a lot of other teams have to do. It’s a hard-to-quantify advantage but an undeniable one.”
Gavaskar, however, defended India’s position and pointed out that the Champions Trophy might not have taken place at all if India had refused to travel to Pakistan. “Their representatives at ICC should be asking why, but the other question is—can you go into a tournament without India? India would have said no, then what happens?” he questioned.
With their Champions Trophy campaign over, England will look to regroup ahead of their final group-stage match against South Africa on March 1 in Karachi. However, their poor run of form has raised serious concerns about the direction of their white-ball cricket.
As scrutiny intensifies on the team’s leadership and approach, England will need more than excuses to reclaim their dominance in the shorter formats.
