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Former Indian Head coach Ravi Shastri. (FILE photo)
Following England’s humiliating Ashes series loss to Australia in just 11 days, former England cricketer Monty Panesar has called for a change in leadership, suggesting former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri as a potential replacement for current head coach Brendon McCullum.
McCullum’s credibility as a capable head coach and strong leader has somewhat faded amid a string of poor results, both at home and away. The 3–0 scoreline in the ongoing Ashes series Down Under has raised further questions about the New Zealander’s leadership and his much-talked-about “Bazball” approach.
In response, former England spinner Panesar believes former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri would be an ideal fit to lead England. Speaking to journalist Ravi Bisht, Panesar said, “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.”
Since the start of 2024, England have lost more Tests (13) than they have won (12) under McCullum.
Under Shastri, India had beaten Australia in Australia twice. Australia lost the 2018–19 Border–Gavaskar Trophy 1–2 and were dealt a similar result with the same scoreline in the 2020–21 series.
Meanwhile, McCullum recently admitted he is uncertain about his future as England’s head coach following the loss in Adelaide.
“I don’t know,” he said when asked whether he would still be in charge at the start of the 2026 English summer. “It’s not really up to me, is it? I’ll just keep trying to do the job, try to learn the lessons we haven’t quite got right here, and try to make some adjustments. Those questions are for someone else, not for me.”
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“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 achieve things. For me, it’s about trying to get the very best out of the people and accomplish what you can with them. Those other decisions are up to other people. But from my point of view, I’m enjoying the time I’ve got with these guys, and I think we’ve made some progress from when I took over to where we are. We’re not the finished article, but we’ve definitely improved as a cricket team. We’ve developed an identity. Now’s the time in these last two Tests to really show that identity and try to salvage something from the series,” added McCullum.
English (US) ·