India vs England: Harbhajan Singh criticises head coach Ravi Shastri after Lord’s Test debacle

The Indian cricket team has struggled to perform in the Test series against England till now and the back-to-back losses has prompted experts and fans to question the team management. The latest to join the list was off-spinner Harbhajan Singh who criticised head coach Ravi Shastri after India’s humiliating loss against England at Lord’s and said that Shastri is answerable for the team’s shocking performance.

“The coach has to come on record, today or tomorrow he has to speak up. He is answerable to everyone. If India loses the series, then he might have to eat his words and admit that conditions do make a lot of difference,” Harbhajan told Aaj Tak in an interview.

The Indian cricket team was bowled out for under 150 in both innings as England won the second Test at Lord’s by an innings and 159 runs. They had previously won the first Test in Birmingham by 31 runs, and have a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Before the start of the England tour, Shastri said that the Indian cricket team is not afraid of any opposition and they have the potential to become one of the best travelling sides in the world.

“For us there is no away, every game is a home game because we don’t play the opponent, we play the pitch. Our job is to conquer the pitch wherever we go,” Shastri said.

“We have a bowling attack that can take 20 wickets. We are not bothered by what conditions we play in. We have the variety but we need to execute our plans in the best possible manner. And bat well, which is important. Our batting let us down in South Africa,”

“We are aggressive. We play to win. Even in this series, we are playing to win. We are not here to draw games or fill in the numbers. We play every game to win and take the game forward. And if in trying to win we lose a game, tough luck. As long as we win more than we lose, we are happy,” Shastri added.

First Published: Aug 14, 2018 16:24 IST