Brendon McCullum, Who Has Played 100+ Tests, Admits the England-India Series Was Amongst The “Best” He Has Ever Been Part Of

India and England couldn't be separated after five intensely fought Test matches.

Brendon McCullum, Who Has Played 100+ Tests, Admits the England-India Series Was Amongst The “Best” He Has Ever Been Part Of

L: Brendon McCullum; R: Shubman Gill and Ben Stokes (Image via The Hindu/ Circle of Cricket)

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25 days of gripping, grinding and grueling Test cricket came to a fitting end, but we still did not have a decisive winner. India and England couldn’t be separated after five Test matches. They were battling neck to neck for the entire series, which has nominated this five match affair to be amongst the best ever.

Brendon McCullum, England’s head coach, in his post match reactions was first to admit that this is one of the best series he has been a part of.

It was a cracking series. It is as good a five match series as I have ever been part of. It oscillated so much right throughout the six weeks and I felt like it had everything. I thought there was quite a lot of hostility at times, there was camaraderie at other times, there was brilliant cricket and at times there was some average cricket because of the pressures that both sides were under.

Brendon McCullum said via Sky Sports

Though McCullum and his England side weren’t able to get over the finish line after being favourites at one point, the New Zealand legend praised the entirety of the series, mentioning how much it oscillated right through. He also was keen to acknowledge the hostility and camaraderie that took place between the sides right through the six weeks. Having played over 100 Test matches in his career, McCullum is certainly a fair person to judge the quality of a series like this, and so he did correctly.

We knew it was going to be hard, we knew it was going to Test us physically and mentally. It’s fair to say that it tested both teams more than we had expected. Just an absolute cracking series to be a part of.

Brendon McCullum added

The closeness of each and every Test match in this series proudly puts itself next to the Australia-India series back in 2021, which had the famous Gabba win. Many have also claimed this five match encounter to be the best they have seen on English soil since the 2005 Ashes that influenced a generation to love Test cricket. This series has effectively come to an end, and rightly so has been shared as no other result would have been a fair reflection of the fight that was on display.

Brendon McCullum adjudicates Shubman Gill as the Player of the series for India

Post the fifth Test end, Brendon McCullum was given the responsibility to adjudicate the player of the series for India in the six weeks gone by. The England coach had no doubt whatsoever in choosing Indian captain Shubman Gill for the award. Gill had a breakout season with the bat as he amassed 754 runs in his 10 outings with the bat. It included three hundreds and a mammoth record breaking double hundred in the second Test.

Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill (Image via Mint)

He ended second to the all-time Indian record held by Sunil Gavaskar of scoring most runs in a Test series. Gavaskar had scored a record 774 against the West Indies in 1971. Gill, in his first venture as captain, fared decently well. He did make some errors right through the six weeks, but despite that, was able to draw this affair shows that he had some great moments wearing the captaincy hat as well.

The new era of Indian cricket has started with a banger and crowds would hope that the fire stays ignited in this team for a long time now. Gill will be at the helm of it and will want to get his first series win as soon as possible.

Gautam Gambhir too was given the role of an adjudicator as he had to choose a player from England. The Indian coach decided to lean towards Harry Brook for his impactful innings right through.

After this mentally and physically fatiguing series, India will have a break from the longest format for a couple of months. There will be an Asia Cup to look forward to in the meantime. Next, India will be seen playing Test cricket against the West Indies in home conditions in October.

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