'Inn sabne proteins zyada le liya' - Fans react as Nasser Hussain criticizes England team after loss against Sri Lanka in ODI World Cup 2023

England's ODI World Cup 2023 campaign has come under jeopardy after the loss against Sri Lanka. In 5 matches so far in the ODI World Cup 2023, England have just a solitary win against Bangladesh, and have lost 4 matches. England did not have a great start to their campaign, as they lost to New Zealand in the season opener in Ahmedabad. While that was termed as a one-off loss, England have been poor otherwise. 

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In their second match of the tournament against Bangladesh, England won the match by a big margin and everything seemed fine for them. What followed has not been digestible for the fans, former cricketers, and media of England. Against Afghanistan, England lost by 69 runs, which was an upset. In the very next game, England was hammered by South Africa in Mumbai. 

In their most recent game against Sri Lanka, England was bundled out for 156 runs. Sri Lanka chased it in 25.4 overs with 8 wickets in hand. Interestingly, the win of Sri Lanka came in Bengaluru, where the pitch helped the pacers, something England would have liked more than Sri Lanka. After the loss, England got criticism from many. 

'It's such a lame excuse when you blame the structure' - Nasser Hussain

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One of them was Nasser Hussain, the former England captain himself. Some of the players seemed not too happy with the lack of games going into the tournament. Some of them questioned the system of England's cricket. Speaking about the accusations of England players, Hussain felt that the players must not blame the system, as it is what made them the stars and helped England win the tournament in 2019. 

After England's loss against Sri Lanka, Hussain said "When they win the 50-over and T20 World Cups, it was 'aren't they great'. But when the wheels come off, suddenly the problem is that it's the structure of English cricket. They blame it on us playing T20 cricket, 100-ball cricket but not enough 50-over cricket."

Nasser pointed out that the likes of Virat and Heinrich Klaasen have adapted themselves to the formats well. "How much domestic 50-over cricket has Virat Kohli played? Or anyone out here? They learn from T20 franchises around the world. That is what has made this great England side over the last six years. It's such a lame excuse when you blame the structure, the exact same structure that made them world champions," added Hussain.