“They will still come and start moaning” - Indian legend’s brutal dig at England after AFG vs ENG 2025 Champions Trophy match

Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar slammed the England cricket team and pundits for dishing out excuses instead of working on issues amid their repeated failures. Jos Buttler and co. suffered an eight-run defeat to Afghanistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, which rules them out of contention for the 2025 Champions Trophy semi-finals.

England are facing a testing time in their white-ball cricket journey. Three lackluster tournaments on the trot expose some serious concerns, with intense scrutiny on the captain and the head coach. Their batting approach, questionable accountability, team combination, and so many issues are at the surface waiting to be picked apart.

Gavaskar, however, feels that England are focusing on the wrong issue by trying to shift blame and the spotlight.

“They will still come and start moaning the next morning. See they cannot lose. If they lose there has to be an excuse and the excuse cannot be that they weren’t better that day or the other team was better, they will start blaming everything," Gavaskar said on the Dressing Room show (via FirstPost).

They will start blaming India also because India are playing all their matches in Dubai and why are we not playing our matches at one venue," he added.

England had lost 0-3 to India away from home ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy. Newly appointed white-ball coach Brendon McCullum's reign has started on the worst possible note, as the team aims for a complete overhaul in a bid to return to limited overs supremacy.

"Can you go into a tournament without India?" - Sunil Gavaskar calls out England's hybrid model critics

Former England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton highlighted the 'undeniable' advantage India have in their grasp due to the hybrid model. According to the tournament structure, the Men in Blue will play their matches only in Dubai, including the knockouts, despite the rest of the tournament taking place in the host nation, Pakistan.

About the advantage India have in playing in Dubai, only in Dubai, which seems to me to be a hard-to-quantify advantage but an undeniable advantage. They’re playing at just one venue. They don’t have to travel between venues or, you know, between countries as a lot of other teams have to do," Atherton said on Sky Sports (via Wisden).

Gavaskar, in reply, claimed that the Champions Trophy would have ceased to exist had India refused to travel to Pakistan and the ICC rejected the hybrid model proposal.

“Their representatives at ICC should be asking why, but the other question is can you go into a tournament without India? India would have said no, then what happens?" Gavaskar stated.

England still have one group stage match remaining against South Africa, scheduled for Saturday, March 1 in Karachi.