Former India captain Ajit Wadekar blames India’s lack of preparation for their humiliating whitewash at the hands of England in the recently-concluded Test series.
"They had no time to celebrate the team's World Cup victory. It was followed by IPL, the West Indies tour and then the tour of England. The body language was terrible. They looked tired," Wadekar told PTI.
"They thought just by being No 1 in the world (in Test ranking) we can beat England, who looked a determined team and had prepared well for the series," he said.
Wadekar, who led the Indian team during the 3-0 series loss to England in 1974, recollected that like Dhoni's men their team also coped with an unsettled opening pair and lack of sufficient practice.
"We played four practice games but most were rained off and we also did not have settled openers," Wadekar recalled.
"This team went in two batches, did not have enough time to strategise and get acclimatised. The opening combination missed the presence of Virender Sehwag (who missed the first two Tests recuperating from his shoulder operation). There were other injury issues too, including that to key bowler Zaheer Khan," he said.
Wadekar suggested that the BCCI should assert itself and get the Future Tours Programme amended so that the number of matches is cut down and top players are available for domestic cricket.
"In my days we learnt a lot from playing along side Polly Umrigar, G S Ramchand, Subash Gupte not only in Ranji Trophy but also in tournaments like the Kanga League. We learnt to build the innings. I'm sure the BCCI has enough financial clout to make changes in the Indian team's international programme," he said
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