England batting legend Geoffrey Boycott feels that
India are no longer the force it used to be and touring the country has
become much easier now a days for cricket playing nations.
Saying
that Indian team is going through a transition phase, Boycott singled
out a few star Indian cricketers who according to him are past their
prime.
“Indians are not the force they have been in
the past. Two great batsmen have retired in VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid
while Sachin Tendulkar is no longer the great player he once was,”
Boycott wrote in his column for The Daily Telegraph.
“Harbhajan
Singh and Zaheer Khan have been fine bowlers but are past their best.
You could say touring India is a bit easier now because the hotels are
better, English food in the big cities is excellent and travelling is so
much easier,” he added.
Boycott’s comments came
after England broke the 28-year-old jinx by defeating India 2-1 in the
Test series in their own backyard after the fourth and final match ended
in a draw in Nagpur on Monday.
The
cricketer-turned-commentator lauded the victorious Alastair Cook-led
team for turning around the series in their favour after the humiliating
loss in the series-opener.
“Earlier this year we
lost three Tests against Pakistan and one against Sri Lanka. We then
batted appallingly in the first Test at Ahmedabad to lose by an innings.
Suddenly everybody in India thought this set of England players would
roll over and get beaten 4-0,” Boycott said.
“They
deserve a lot of praise for showing character, determination and ability
to come back and win well in Mumbai and Calcutta.”
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