India are yet to win a T20I match in the ongoing UK tour.
India's unbeaten 16-series or tournaments streak in T20Is came to an end following consecutive setbacks against Ireland and England.
After suffering a whitewash in the two-T20I series against Ireland, the Men in Blue are trailing 0-2 in the ongoing five-match series versus England. The recent results have left former India skipper Anil Kumle disappointed.
On Tuesday (July 7), the Shreyas Iyer-led side suffered a crushing 125-run defeat against England at Trent Bridge. This marked India’s biggest-ever T20I loss in terms of runs.
Speaking on the JioHotstar 'Match Centre Live' following the third T20I, Kumble heavily criticized the team's tactical naivety against the pace of Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue.
"It was an abject surrender by the Indian team. You don't expect a world champion side to cave in like that," Kumble said.
"The Indian batters needed to show more patience and application, but everyone just tried to attack instead of absorbing the pressure. Yes, the required rate was over 10, but someone had to take responsibility and bat deep. Instead, they went the aggressive route and paid the price with a batting collapse," he added.
Kumble also slammed the decision to send Harshit Rana to bat ahead of Shivam Dube during the Nottingham T20I, citing that proven power-hitters should always bat up front rather than exposing lower-order bowlers too early.
“In T20 cricket, you put your best batters up front. Sending out Harshit Rana to bat ahead of a more complete batter like Shivam Dube was wrong. You can't expect a number eight guy to win you a game by sending him to bat ahead of a proven guy. That's not how things work in modern-day cricket."
The constant chopping and changing of the playing XI, Kumble believes, is also responsible for destroying bowlers' rhythm and confidence. Highlighting the hasty dropping of fast bowler Prasidh Krishna, he called for consistency.
Kumble condemned the team management's habit of making frequent changes to the playing XI, calling it responsible for destroying bowlers' rhythm and confidence.
"The Indian team has made too many changes to their lineup, and that needs to stop. The bowlers keep changing. Prasidh Krishna was dropped after one bad game against Ireland. Prince Yadav came in, bowled well, and picked three wickets in the second T20I, but India still lost that game. As a new captain, you need to stick with your five bowlers. Batters will score runs, but bowlers win you matches."
“When you pick players, you need to keep backing them. Ups and downs are part and parcel of life. They keep happening, but that doesn't mean failures end up with you getting dropped from the squad.”
Kumble specifically pointed out the absence of crafty wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav from the T20I squad, arguing that it is unfair to drop a proven, World Cup-winning player purely based on just one poor IPL season.
“Kuldeep Yadav certainly didn't have a great season in the IPL, but he is a champion bowler. He should have been a part of the squad for this England tour. He was part of the side that won the T20 World Cup, and now he is not part of the squad here in England, nor the team going to Zimbabwe. So yes, it means they have moved on from Kuldeep after just one poor IPL season.”
“It's not like Kuldeep is 38 years old and you are looking to bring in the next youngster. He is 31, has a lot of cricket to offer, and he doesn't play all three formats regularly. He doesn't play much Test cricket, so it's not like he is burdened and needs to be rested. He needs to play."