Former India player Sadagopan Ramesh has raised questions over Brendon McCullum’s capability as a red-ball coach of England as they lost 3 of the Ashes 2025-26 series. Ramesh also stated that McCullum is not fit for the role, as he has tried to insert the T20 style of batting in Test matches as well.

Speaking in a video uploaded on Instagram, he said, “Brendon McCullum was a good cricketer but is not fit as a red-ball coach. The reason is tried to fit the T20 style of batting in Test matches to make it to Bazball. Now, England is playing as if that’s the only style they know of. Former cricketers should never insert their style of play and must think according to what the format needs.”

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“Leaving aside the off-field things, the reason why England are struggling is because they are playing one-dimensional cricket. Suppose if you have a vehicle and if you decide to ride it at 100 km all the way to the destination, the vehicle will not last long. Vehicles have something called a break and must be used from time to time. Roads will have left or right turns and various signals and the main weapon to use is break. If you ride it without breaks and keep hitting trees on the way, that’s what Bazball has done to England,” he again shared.

Ramesh also shared how Rahul Dravid didn’t force India to adopt a conservative style of batting, and his fearless approach helped India win the T20 World Cup.

He added: “The shining example of that is Rahul Dravid, The Wall. He was called the pillar of Test-match batting. Under his coaching, India won the T20 World Cup. The primary reason is he knows his style of play but he urged the players to play fearlessly and with freedom. It’s very important. What Brendon McCullum is doing is trying to squeeze the T20 style batting in Tests. The shots played can make the ball land into the crowd but the WTC mace made will never fall into your hand.”