India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was left pondering his future after another embarrassing away Test series defeat.
The tourists crashed to an innings and 244 runs defeat against England at The Oval, which gave the hosts a deserved 3-1 series win after India had been bowled out for a paltry 94 yesterday.
After a second successive series defeat on tours of England – it was 4-0 three years ago – Dhoni was mostly equivocal about his position as a Test leader.
When asked if he has taken the Indian team as far as he can, Dhoni said: “Maybe, yes. You [media] asked me the same question in 2011. You will have to wait and watch, if I am strong enough or if I am not strong enough.”
The wicketkeeper batsman said low confidence among his batsmen had resulted in two innings defeats.
“The last three Test matches, I think we were not really up to the mark. By that I mean we never competed and I think also today’s batting was a reflection of a batting order that has lost a lot of confidence over the period of time in the five Test match series," added the India skipper.
"There were not enough runs on the board and if you’re scoring 150-odd runs or 160-odd runs, that’s not really good enough to defend against a home team and I felt that’s where we really got exposed.”
England captain Alastair Cook was proud of the way he stuck it out during tough times, when many ex-players were demanding his resignation, and ended up contributing to the series win.
“I’m glad I stuck through the tough times,” said Cook. “That’s what sport does, tests your character, and to bounce back as a team is a testament to us. I don’t play this game to prove people right or wrong. I never have. I do it to try to win games of cricket for England, and do my best at all times.”