Sanjay Manjrekar blames poor technique for India's defeat to England

Whilst being critical of the batting line-up, Manjrekar was complimentary of India's bowling attack, saying that "the bowlers kept getting India back in the match and the batsmen kept letting those chances slip."

Manjrekar, who was speaking at the ninth Dilip Sardesai Memorial lecture, said that there was no problem with the temperament of India's batsmen, but rather their technique. Despite promising displays in the Test series away to South Africa and England this year, they have come out on the losing side on both occasions. In both series, it has been notable how much the ball has swung and seamed.

Manjrekar said: "It wasn’t temperament that was letting these batsmen down. In South Africa and in England it was purely a technical problem, specifically defensive technique."

The way in which T20 cricket is being prioritised by players is also a concern for Test cricket, according to Manjrekar. While not criticising players for doing so, he did say: "It's about playing the Indian Premier League at all cost, player injuries surface before and after the IPL. IPL offers you fame and money and who will say no to this?"

"Also Test cricket is just too damn hard, so it's no wonder that many are choosing T20 leagues over Test matches," said Manjrekar.