England ODI skipper Jos Buttler has refused to agree with Ravi Shastri's comments after his side lost the third ODI and the series to India in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
England were whitewashed in the ODI series and managed to win just one game in the five-match T20I series. Overall, it was not an ideal preparation for the side ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan starting next week.
Denying Shastri's comments Jos Buttler said that his side did a lot of training across the T20I and the ODI series and said that the series was a long tour for his side. Ravi Shastri previously said that England did have just one training session for the entire series.
"I'm not sure that's 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. 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" Buttler said in response to Shastri's comments.
England Lose Fourth Straight ODI Series Since ODI World Cup 2023
The 3-0 ODI series loss to India was England's fourth since the ODI World Cup. Despite that, Buttler was not ready to accept that his side's confidence will be down heading into the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
"We've not played near our potential, we've had some moments in games, never enough to force results or look like winning games of cricket in the last three matches. But I think the fact we're not anywhere near our potential yet or playing individually or collectively where we know we can be gives us something to look forward to, believe we can get there and be dangerous team in the Champions Trophy," Buttler said.
England lost 42 out of the 78 wickets they lost in total across the series to spin. To the naked eye, their problems against the Indian spinners was very evidently visible. Yet Buttler was adamant that the side had concerns against spin.
"No concerns. As I said, simply we have to be better. We have to be very confident in all the guys' games against spin. Guys have all the shots. Joe Root is probably one of the best players of spin in the world. Certainly, a good guy to have in our team"
The side moves onto the Champions Trophy from here on. They will face Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa in the group stage. They will play their league games in Lahore and Karachi.
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