Former England captain Kevin Pietersen has torn into the attitude of the players following a dismal white-ball tour of India.

England were hammered in a 142-run defeat in the final ODI in Ahmedabad, which was their seventh defeat out of eight on the subcontinent ahead of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

Joe Root is understood to have been the only player to play in a nets session before the third ODI, with the remainder of the squad playing a round of golf.

"You have a major tournament coming up in the Champions Trophy, and from what we have heard, one batter has had a net in the last week or two: Root, the one batter who probably doesn't need one!" said Pietersen on Star Sports.

"Tom Banton arrived two days ago from the UAE, and he was on the golf course yesterday, he wasn't batting. Where have the issues come? None of them can play spin. And how do you improve playing spin? In the nets!"

While the team did train before the first ODI and did so several times in the T20 series, it is thought that travel commitments and injury concerns kept them from training before the second and third ODIs.

With England dominated by India's spinners on Wednesday, going from 126-2 to 214 all out in 34.2 overs, Pietersen could not work out why they did not take the opportunity to improve.

We're beaten in our final game of the series. pic.twitter.com/uMsmUZLCUi

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) February 12, 2025

"I never played golf when I played cricket," he said. "I was in the nets hitting thousands of balls, trying to make improvements here in the subcontinent. Have your days off in England.

"England will be bitterly disappointed, but they have only got themselves to blame. The margin of defeat got bigger and bigger. Thinking caps need to go on very quickly. If you don't practice, you don't improve.

"The subcontinent is where you learn the art of being able to play these guys, by playing all sorts of spinners in the nets. These guys love bowling to foreign batters, you've got thousands of little kids wanting to bowl to an England team.

"This is where you learn, not in England, where these players have grown up and are comfortable. England should be spending hours in the nets and leaving India thinking they are much better players of spin.

"I've been on tours when we have lost every single game, but I have left knowing there are players that have improved the way they played and thought about spin because they had done the hard yards in the nets.

"It may not change the results now but, goodness me, it might change the result in Lahore in a few weeks' time when you're playing spin well and better."

Pietersen was equally scathing of Ben Duckett's comments on the eve of the match in Ahmedabad in which he said a 3-0 series whitewash would not matter if England went on to win the Champions Trophy.

"Those words should be frowned upon," the former England captain added. "I sort of understand his reasoning, saying that losing to India would mean absolutely nothing if they win the Champions Trophy.

"I hope that England can turn on that tap and flick that switch that enables all their batters to get hundreds and their bowlers to get wickets, because it's quite a statement of what that dressing room thinks.

"But if they think that just here in India, they can just turn up it doesn't matter… The results do matter. You're playing for your country. You've got many cricketers in England who would love to be in your position and would love to come to India, would love to play in front of these crowds.

"It's stuff that I as an ex-player, wish that I still had. I wish I could still play in front of these crowds. So, when you hear statements like that, it just really is disappointing."