‘Captain like coach’, Shreyas faces backlash for ‘Gambhir-esque’ comment:Sundar coach’s ‘favourite’; cricket experts, fans react alike to India’s loss

The humiliating loss that India suffered against England in a multi-match T20I series for the first time has garnered massive backlash on the social media. There was a wave of fans supporting Shreyas Iyer’s elevation to Team India as captain after Suryakumar Yadav could not score runs throughout his captaincy stint. After the current India T20I captain mentioned after a historic series loss on Friday that the team is going through a transition phase, the same fans targeted the 31-year-old for giving excuses. Meanwhile, senior journalists and cricket experts pointed out Men in Blue were ‘flat track bullies’ and the importance of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, who were part of India’s T20 World Cup winning campaign but were not there in England to save the day. Let’s take a look at some of the prominent reactions from the cricket fraternity, including the take from the fans on Team India’s loss. However, first let’s check out what captain Shreyas Iyer said on the loss. Shreyas Iyer’s reaction to India’s loss Speaking in the post-match press conference after the 9-wicket loss in the 4th T20I and losing the series to England, team India captain Shreyas Iyer said, “This is a transition phase, and we will be making mistakes. But we have to realise how important it is to adapt. I’m sure there are quick learners.” “Definitely happy with my performance, but if it’s not on the winning side, it goes to the side”, he further added. Cricket experts and prominent entities’ reaction Irfan Pathan: Former India pacer Irfan Pathan took to his X social media account on India’s loss, mentioning how the team is neither even managing to chase nor score runs. He penned, “If Indian batters don’t want to be called flat pitch bullies, they need to do much better than what they have done so far.” Ravichandran Ashwin: Former Team India spin all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, meanwhile, took the loss a little lightly on social media X. Writing on his X account after the series defeat, “England continue being ruthless! Good learning curve for India.” Shashi Tharoor: Congress Lok Sabha member and an avid supporter of Sanju Samson, Shashi Tharoor, thoroughly criticised India’s loss in his trademark style. He penned a note on his X account, “I’m truly speechless. Dumbfounded. Gobsmacked. This is one humiliation too many. There is literally nothing to be said.” Rajdeep Sardesai: Senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai meanwhile reflected on the importance of Jasprit Bumrah, who gave Indian bowling its edge, one of the factors that the Men in Blue missed in the T20I series against England. Prominent fan reactions on India’s T20I series loss vs England Fan reactions included diverse responses, with some of them mentioning how Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah are the missing key pieces that caused India’s loss. Another fan responded bluntly to Shreyas Iyer’s reaction to the loss, as Gautam Gambhir had also mentioned the same words when India suffered a historic loss in red-ball cricket. With Iyer now echoing the same sentiment, he has become the same like his head coach. Meanwhile, a fan pointed out that despite having 8 left handers on Playing XI, in the 4th T20I, only one right-hander was able to score, highlighting an imbalanced squad. Washington Sundar was also one of the players who faced backlash alongside Tilak Varma for his poor form. Whether it was with the ball, Washington Sundar could not impress, and that’s why fans called him ‘Gambhir’s favourite’ for receiving consistent backing in all formats despite not delivering on the field. Another reaction requested BCCI to not use flat pitches in the IPL as they seemingly have ruined the batting style of Indian players. The X user mentioned that it is not the transition phase that caused India’s loss, rather it was the poor batting technique that got exposed in challenging English conditions.