England suffered an 82-run defeat in the third Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval, thereby losing the series with two matches to spare.

The Three Lions arrived in Australia bullish that they could win the Ashes Down Under for the first time since 2010-11. But their hopes imploded with heavy eight-wicket defeats each in Perth and Brisbane before a closer contest in Adelaide, leaving the ultra-aggressive "Bazball" style of cricket in tatters.

After conceding the Ashes urn in just 11 days of cricket, England head coach Brendon McCullum is facing a barrage of criticism, with many experts and former cricketers calling for his removal from the top post.

Amid the debate over McCullum’s future, former England spinner Monty Panesar has named Ravi Shastri as the ideal candidate to take over as England head coach.

Panesar believes the former India head coach would be the right candidate to guide England, as he understands what it takes to beat Australia in their own backyard.

With Shastri at the helm, Team India won back-to-back Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Australian soil in 2018-19 and 2020-21.

“You have to think: who exactly knows how to beat Australia? How do you take advantage of Australia’s weaknesses, mentally, physically, and tactically? I think Ravi Shastri should become England’s next head coach,” Panesar said while speaking to journalist Ravi Bisht on his YouTube channel.

Despite the backlash, McCullum expressed his desire to continue in the role but admitted that his future is no longer in his control following the Ashes debacle. The former New Zealand skipper is contracted with the ECB until the end of the 2027 ODI World Cup.

"I don't know. It's not really up to me, is it? I will just keep trying to do the job, try to learn the lessons that I haven't quite got right here and make adjustments. Those questions are for someone else, not for me," McCullum told reporters ahead of the Boxing Day Ashes Test at MCG.

Terming the job as a "pretty good gig", Brendon McCullum said he remains motivated despite the heavy criticism.

"It's a pretty good gig. It's good fun. You travel the world with the lads and try to play some exciting cricket and try to achieve some things. For me, it's a matter of trying to just get the very best out of the people and try to achieve what you can with them.

"Those other decisions are up to other people. I think we've made some progress from when I took over to where we are," McCullum was quoted as saying by the English media.