Engineer hits out at ‘embarrassing’ India

Former India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer lamented the team’s “embarrassing” innings and 54-run defeat by England in the third Test at Old Trafford on Saturday, criticising both the players and coach Duncan Fletcher. “This was embarrassing,” the 76-year-old Engineer, who played 46 Tests from 1961-1975, told BBC Radio Five on Sunday. “India shot themselves in the foot right from the moment they decided to bat on a green top surface,” added Engineer, who spent several seasons at Old Trafford playing for the successful Lancashire side of the 1970s.

And he said Fletcher, a former England coach, ought to have told India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to field first, rather than bat. “Fletcher is very, very highly paid, surely he can read the pitch and advise Dhoni accordingly?” “India played without any care or passion, like having a Saturday afternoon slog.” “The DRS is absolutely haunting India because a lot of the decisions have gone against them. “I don’t know when they’ll open their eyes and wake up. They’ve got to embrace DRS,” Engineer insisted.