Lee Chong Wei believes that Malaysia won't be able to win the Thomas Cup again until they can put together a balanced squad that have at least two formidable singles players.
Chong Wei's comments came after Malaysia were unexpectedly eliminated 3-2 by India in the Thomas Cup quarter-finals in Bangkok on Thursday.
Malaysia's lack of depth and over reliance on the doubles were brutally exposed by India, and for the third consecutive Thomas Cup, the team prematurely crashed out in the quarter-finals.
Malaysia were hoping to take the two points from the two doubles to tilt the tie in their favour but it just did not happen.
In the first doubles, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani lost 21-19, 21-15 to Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, and India, boasting stronger singles players in their ranks, capitalised to seal their passage to their first semi-finals since 1979.
H. S. Prannoy turned hero by outclassing Leong Jun Hao 21-13, 21-8 in the deciding third singles.
"I don't think we would have stood a chance even if we fielded (Liew) Daren," said Chong Wei, when asked if he would have lined up the players differently if he was in charge.
"Srikanth was oozing with confidence, he was untouchable. Neither (Ng) Tze Yong or Daren could beat him.
"It wasn't that Tze Yong is not good, but he simply hasn't reached the level of Srikanth yet.
"Jun Hao fared poorly against a more-experienced Prannoy.
"Ideally, Tze Yong could have played third singles, but I don't think we can afford to do that. What if the tie did not last until the fifth match?
"To win the Thomas Cup, it takes a collective effort from everyone in the team. We certainly need to improve our singles depth if we want to challenge for the title.
"Having been the singles coaching director for a few years now, (Wong) Choong Hann has to be held accountable and explain."
The former World No 1 agreed with suggestions that the BA of Malaysia consider having an open selection for the singles players, as what the Indian squad did.
World No 13 B. Sai Praneeth, despite being the No 3 in India, was the notable absentee in their Thomas Cup team after losing in the trials.
Soong Joo Ven, who defeated South Korea No 1 Heo Kwang Hee in the Korea Masters recently, cried foul after he was not considered for Thomas Cup selection, while Cheam June Wei, who defeated Prannoy in the Korea Open, was also overlooked.
Joo Ven and June Wei are fourth and fifth ranked nationally respectively.
"Perhaps, it's time we looked into having a selection trial for the men's singles in order to make it fair to all, especially with many independent players outside the national team," said Chong Wei whose concern on the lack of singles depth is understandable.
From 2006 to 2018, Chong Wei had accumulated a remarkable Thomas Cup record. Playing as first singles, he contributed 24 points out of a possible 27.
Chong Wei's individual brilliance, however, was not enough to help Malaysia reclaim the prestigious Thomas Cup, which they last won in Kuala Lumpur in 1992.
The closest Malaysia came to glory was in New Delhi in 2014 where the national team were beaten 3-2 by Japan in the final.
Chong Wei Feng, who played for Malaysia in two Thomas Cups (2014 and 2016), said the defeat to India did not surprise him.
"India developed a huge pool of singles players, you got to give them credit. They have five singles in the world top 30 and more than 10 in the top 100," said Wei Feng, who was known as a "team event specialist" after winning eight out of 10 matches in two Thomas Cup Finals.
"As for us, we only have Zii Jia to count on and that's not enough. The rest of them have not been convincing even against England and Japan."