Thu Feb 13 04:55:28 UTC 2025: ## England Captain Rejects Shastri’s Criticism, Eyes Champions Trophy Redemption

**Ahmedabad, India** – England captain Jos Buttler has dismissed former India captain Ravi Shastri’s claim that the English team had only one net practice session during their recent tour of India. Following a 3-0 ODI series whitewash, Shastri’s commentary suggesting a lack of training sparked a rebuttal from Buttler, who insisted the team had “plenty of training” despite acknowledging missed sessions due to travel.

“I’m not sure that’s quite true,” Buttler stated regarding Shastri’s assertion. “We’ve had a reasonably long tour…there have been a couple of times we’ve not trained, but we’ve certainly done plenty of training throughout the tour.” He emphasized the team’s commitment and denied any suggestion of laziness.

The series defeat marks England’s fourth consecutive ODI series loss since the 2023 World Cup, a tournament where they also underperformed. Despite the setback, Buttler remains optimistic about the upcoming Champions Trophy in Pakistan, attributing the losses to the team not reaching their full potential. “We’ve not played near our potential,” he admitted, “but that gives us something to look forward to.”

Buttler also downplayed concerns about England’s struggles against spin bowling, which saw them lose 42 of 78 wickets to spinners across the T20I and ODI series. He cited the team’s inherent skill and the example of star batsman Joe Root as evidence of their ability to overcome this challenge. He instead focused on learning from India’s strong batting performances, particularly from Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma.

One bright spot for England was the outstanding performance of leg-spinner Adil Rashid, the series’ leading wicket-taker with seven scalps, including dismissals of Virat Kohli in both ODIs he played. Buttler praised Rashid’s consistent excellence throughout the tour.

England will begin their Champions Trophy campaign against Australia in Lahore in less than ten days, facing tough challenges from Afghanistan and South Africa in the group stage. The team will hope to use the upcoming tournament to rebuild confidence and finally realize their potential.

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