• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Brendon Mccullum Urges England Players To Watch Their Words Before India Series

Brendon McCullum Urges England Players To Watch Their Words Before India Series

Aakash Saini

Brendon McCullum with Jos Buttler [Source: @englandcricket/x]Brendon McCullum with Jos Buttler [Source: @englandcricket/x]

England head coach Brendon McCullum has urged his players to show some humility while interacting in the public. The former New Zealand cricketer emphasised the importance of players learning to carry themselves with fans and media, and sending across a positive message while being at it.

McCullum’s statements and warning occur after months of England’s underwhelming performances across all formats. Over the past few months, the English cricket team failed to qualify for the 2025 WTC final, and suffered a crashing first-round exit at the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

England players cautioned before India series

Brendon McCullum has urged England players to “be smart” while commenting in front of media. He believes that ever since losing their ‘BazBall’ momentum, England cricketers have “not been as smart” as they should be while commenting and speaking with the reporters. He said:

“It’s not just about what you do on the cricket field. It’s how you carry yourself. It’s how you interact with the public. It’s the messaging that you give.”

“I think people were excited with how we played at the start, enthralled by the free-wheeling cricket we played. I felt they had a sense of belonging to that type of group. But (since then) we have let opportunities slip and perhaps not been as smart as we possibly could with some of our comments to the media.”

Earlier this year, Ben Duckett had infamously said that England players were not concerned about losing to India during their white-ball series in India, as long as the Englishmen did well at the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.

As it turned out, England bowed out of the opening round of the tournament in Pakistan and in the UAE.

They will now face Zimbabwe in a one-off Test in Trent Bridge between May 22 and May 25. The match will be followed by a five-match series against India next month, which will launch England’s 2025-27 WTC cycle.