Former Legend criticizes England skipper Ben Stoke for their performance in 1st Test against England

The India vs England Test series has not been a great game for the hosts so far, with already struggling with the bat and getting hammered in the field. The England side had got all out for 246 where they once again failed to counter the India spin attack that was looking threatening with Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel looking threatening on a track which was giving them some assistance. The same cannot be said about the England bowlers, who were already pegged back by  great innings from Yashasavi Jaiswal and KL Rahul where the hosts are comfortable on 222-3 before on day 2.

The man who will be facing some criticism going into the Test match is England skipper Ben Stokes who has been one of the top all-rounders in England cricket. Stokes has already made a name for himself in Test cricket where he has scored over 6000 runs in his 98 Test matches to go with his 197 wickets. Even in this Test match, Stokes had led from the front with the bat scoring 70 runs to get his team out of trouble. Unfortunately, he still had to endure the wrath of the Indian batters when entered the field.

Kumble’s criticism of the English superstar

Former India legendary spinner Anil Kumble was not happy with how Stokes was martialling his troops against the India batters and gave some harsh criticism on the England captain saying “ I thought England missed a trick by not using Joe Root because he's someone you can really turn the ball, and he has a good action”. This statement came true with Root finally taking the wicket of Jaiswal in the first over of day two. There were several more criticisms made by Kumble regarding the England spinners as well, who were not as consistent as the Indian bowlers in the match.

Anil Kumble is one of the sharpest minds in the game and has enjoyed a lot of success in the game as a player and a coach. There is no doubt that the English bowlers have not been at their best in the game, but the criticism only for Stokes is slightly harsh on his behalf. England are evidently struggling in the game with both bat and ball. Kumble has still given his honest opinion on the performances of the England team who have failed to use the conditions even with three specialist spinners in the playing eleven.