In the first three matches of the ongoing 5-match Ashes series between England and Australia, the English team lost the series 3-0. Now the demand for change in the leadership of the team has intensified. Former English spinner Monty Panesar has said that the team needs a new thinking. He has suggested former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri as a possible successor to Brendon McCullum and Panesar said that Ravi Shastri knows how to win series in Australia.

Demand raised to make Ravi Shastri the coach

England Lost The Ashes 2025-26: Former England spinner Monty Panesar has talked about Ravi Shastri becoming the new head coach of England. He emphasized on Shastri’s proven track record against Australia and said that Shastri has the necessary tactical knowledge to win a high-pressure series in Australia.

Panesar said, ‘You have to think who knows the right way to defeat Australia? How will you take advantage of Australia’s mental, physical and strategic weaknesses? I think Ravi Shastri should become the next head coach of England. McCullum’s ‘baseball’ tactics, which had won praise for his attacking style, have come under intense scrutiny following England’s poor results both at home and away. Since the beginning of the year 2024, the English team has won 12 tests but also lost 13. This has raised concerns over the sustainability of McCullum’s methods and how effective this method is against top teams like Australia.

Ravi Shastri has won two series in Australia

Under the guidance of Ravi Shastri, India has won two test series in Australia. He won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2018-19 and 2020-21. Both times the scoreline of the series was 2-1. This remarkable success in Australia has led some former English players, including Panesar, to view Shastri as a coach who can exploit the weaknesses of the Australian team.

Will McCullum leave the post of head coach?

Meanwhile, amid the ongoing speculation, Brendon McCullum himself has expressed uncertainty about his future as the head coach of England. When asked about continuing his role for the English summer of 2026, McCullum said that the matter is not really in his hands. McCullum told the press, ‘I don’t know. It’s not really up to me, I’ll just keep trying to do my job, try to learn from the things we didn’t do well here and try to make some improvements. These questions are not for me, but for someone else.

The Ashes Series 2025-26: The 5-match Ashes series between Australia and England is being played in Australia. The host team, which won the Perth match, has suffered a big setback before the Brisbane Test. Australian captain Pat Cummins was expected to return in the second match, but Cummins is out of this match also due to injury. In the second match of this Ashes series also, the team will be captained by veteran batsman Steve Smith.

Team announced for Brisbane Test

Australia has announced the team for the Brisbane Test a week in advance. Captain Pat Cummins has also been ruled out of the second test against England. The Australian team has not made any changes in its team for the second match of the Ashes 2025-26 series. The first match of this series was over in just two days. While batting first, the entire England team was all out after scoring 172 runs, after which England bowled out Australia for 132 runs. After gaining a lead of 40 runs in the first innings, England was able to score 164 runs in the second innings and gave Australia a target of only 205 runs. Which the Kangaroo team chased at the loss of only 2 wickets. Travis Head played an important role in this victory by scoring a stormy century.

Unchanged#Ashes pic.twitter.com/Xu7W7p9R3N

— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) November 28, 2025

Apart from Cummins, two more players were out

Apart from Pat Cummins, Sean Abbott and Josh Hazlewood have also been ruled out of the Brisbane Test. Both these players also had to stay out of the first test due to injury. The second match of the Ashes series will start from December 4 and Test captain Pat Cummins will travel with the team to speed up his recovery process.

Australian team for Brisbane Test:

Steve Smith (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wicket-keeper), Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Bo Webster.