Brendon McCullum gives a tight slap to Ravi Shastri and Kevin Pietersen over recent attacks on England team

England head coach Brendon McCullum has finally opened up on his team's criticism for the lack of preparation during the ODI series against India. Brendon McCullum defended England and called it "factually incorrect" that the team has not prepared well for the series.

Recently, England faced plenty of criticism from former cricketers Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Shastri, who claimed that the team, apart from Joe Root, had not done any net session during the ODI series against India.

The team had trained before the start of the ODI series but didn't take any part in net sessions before the second and third ODIs in Cuttack and Ahmedabad respectively despite not producing the desired results.

Watch: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli clash with each other; fight on ground during IND vs ENG 3rd ODI

Brendon McCullum breaks silence on criticism of England's preparations

While speaking to talkSPORT after the end of the ODI series, Brendon McCullum defended England's preparations by calling Pietersen and Shastri's comments as "factually incorrect" and claimed that the team had prepared well for this series.

"Firstly, it's factually incorrect, the whole statement that we don't train. We've trained plenty right throughout, guys have come from a lot of cricket as well. I think it's an easy thing to have as a throwaway line that guys don't train enough when the results aren't right," Brendon McCullum said.

The former New Zealand skipper further reinstated England's playing style and stood by his team's aggressive methods. According to him, the injuries have also hampered the preparations which led to these results.

"But we've got a style and a method that we believe in. We've got guys who are battling injuries and trying to make sure that we've got enough bodies out on the field, knowing that we've got a huge assignment coming up in a week or two. Ultimately it's factually incorrect what's been said and we'll stay true to what we believe in," Brendon McCullum added.

Jos Buttler defends England's preparations

England skipper Jos Buttler also defended the team's preparations and called the long travel days as one of the reasons why the team opted out of practice sessions. He claimed that England is trying to create a good environment to help the players give their best.

"We've had a reasonably long tour, a few long travel days. There have been a couple of times we have not trained but we have done plenty of training throughout the tour," Buttler said.

"We try to create a really good environment but don't mistake that for a lazy environment or lack of effort. The guys are desperate to perform and do well and improve," the England captain said.

Tough tour for England

England had a difficult India tour in which they lost both the T20I series and the ODI series. While India defeated England 4-1 in the T20I series, the home team was dominant in the ODI format.

Overall, England won just 1 out of 8 matches in the series. With the Champions Trophy 2025 looming, it is a warning sign for England as they aim to peak at the right time. They will begin their Champions Trophy campaign against arch-rivals Australia on February 22 in Lahore.