India greats slam Kohli and co. after Lord's debacle

India lost the second Test at Lord's by an innings and 159 runs

India greats slam Kohli and co. after Lord's debacle India captain Virat Kohli scored just 17 from 29 deliveries | AP

India's abject surrender in the first two Tests against England has drawn sharp criticism from some of the country's celebrated former cricketers, who hoped the side would have the strength to bounce back.

Virender Sehwag, Bishan Singh Bedi and V.V.S. Laxman were among those who lamented the lack of fight shown by India in the second Test against England, losing by an innings and 159 runs to go 0-2 down in the five-match series.

“Very poor from India. While we all want to stand by our team and support them when they don't do well, going down without a fight is very disappointing to watch. Hope they have the confidence and mental strength to comeback from this,” tweeted Sehwag.

Bedi was even more scathing in his assessment of the performance.

Laxman hoped India will learn from the mistakes ahead of the third Test starting August 18 at Nottingham.

“Caught in unfavourable conditions, not reading what the opposition threw saw India lose the Lord's Test tamely without showing a fight. Hopefully lessons are learnt quickly and the rest of the batsman start applying themselves going forward,” he wrote.

Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif said the team's performance was painful to watch.

Another former batsman Vinod Kambli said India have plenty to think about ahead of the next Test.