It was an abject surrender: Gavaskar

It was not the defeat, but the manner in which India capitulated in the four match Test series against England, was what surprised former India captains Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri.

It was not the defeat, but the manner in which India capitulated in the four match Test series against England, was what surprised former India captains Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri.

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Trailing 0-3, India surrendered meekly after brave resistance by Sachin Tendulkar and Amit Mishra on the final day of the final Test at the Oval in London, to help England complete a 4-0 whitewash and officially become the number one team in the world in the five-day format.

"It was very disappointing. Everybody though it would be a great series, but it was an abject surrender," Gavaskar, who is part of the ESPN-Star Sports commentary team, said.

Gavaskar felt India, who came into the series as the number one team, did not live upto the billing. "This was not the way a number one team plays. They normally lose by close margins, not like this," he added.

"Maybe the approach was wrong and the attitude wasn't there." Gavaskar's colleague in the commentary box, Shastri attributed the drubbing to a combination of factors. "It was a combination of a lot of factors - injuries, lack of form. But this is a rude wake-up call," Shastri said.

The former all-rounder, however, expressed hope of a revival. "Tough guidelines should be in place, and we should have a core group of players for all three formats of the game. You might not always have desirable stories but that's the way forward. That way, Indian cricket could get back on track in 6-8 months." he said.