'Totally incorrect': McCullum refutes Pietersen's claim of England's lack of training during India ODI series

England head coach Brendon McCullum has dismissed former captain turned cricket commentator Kevin Pietersen's claim of lack of training by the visiting team during the white-ball series against India, which concluded after the third ODI at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. 

Jos Buttler-led England suffered 0-3 series whitewash at the hands of India after losing the final ODI by 142 runs in Ahmedabad. England lost 1-4 T20I series against India. Following England’s white-ball series defeat, Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Shastri criticized the The Three Lions for not performing up to the mark during their India tour, with the former claiming that players had spent more time playing golf rather than having net sessions. The former England captain also accused the visitors for ‘disrespecting’ Indian conditions and India. 

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Responding to criticism by Kevin Pietersen, Brendon McCullum defended England’s training efforts, while citing injury management and upcoming training sessions in Pakistan ahead of Champions Trophy. He added that England players had played a lot of cricket around the world but needed to ensure there are no injury setbacks. 

"It's not true. We’ve done lots of training. We have had injuries in the camp so we’ve backed guys off a little bit to make sure we had a fit team. We have three training sessions in Pakistan as well.” The England head coach told reporters as quoted by Daily Mail. 

“Guys have come from a lot of cricket, and I think keeping guys fresh is just as important, especially when you have injuries. Factually that is totally incorrect." he added, 

England did not have an ideal series in the ODI leg against India as they failed to put up competitive totals and struggled against spinners. The openers Phil Salt and Ben Duckett gave the visitors a brilliant start to their innings, but their efforts were not complemented by the middle-order batters, who failed to step when it mattered the post. 

Jos Buttler responded to Kevin Pietersen’s claim 

England skipper Jos Buttler too responded to Kevin Pietersen’s claim of lack of training as the reason behind the visitors' defeat in the white-ball series. Speaking at the press conference after the 142-run defeat against India in Ahmedabad, Buttler dismissed Pietersen's claim, stating that his team have had a long tour and did a lot of training throughout the tour. 

He further emphasized the efforts of the England players and urged not to mistake it as a lazy environment.

“That’s not quite true. I think we’ve had a reasonably long tour, a few long travel days, there have been a couple of times we’ve not trained but we’ve certainly done plenty of training throughout the tour.” The England skipper said. 

“We obviously try to create a really good environment, but don’t mistake that for a lazy environment or a lack of effort. The guys are desperate to perform, do well and improve.” he added. 

After the white-ball series, England will be travelling to Dubai from there they will travel to Lahore for the Champions Trophy 2025. Jos Buttler’s side will begin their campaign against Australia on February 22.

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