England must 'stop being so English': Bopara

England allrounder Ravi Bopara says his country's cricketers need to "stop being so English" if they want to succeed in the limited-overs game and avoid a repeat of their early exit from the 2015 World Cup.

Bopara played just once in England's Cup campaign, a dead rubber against Afghanistan in Sydney, despite playing all five matches of the Carlton Mid ODI Tri-Series that preceded the tournament.

The 29-year-old was dropped following the Tri-Series in a reshuffle to accommodate the return of Gary Ballance at No.3, a move that backfired when the left-hander scored 46 runs from four matches and was left out for the final two games against Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Bopara was "angry" at his sacking, but says England's early exit was as much to do with a deep-rooted culture of conservatism as inconsistent selection.

“We need to stop being so English," Bopara said.

"We are really English at times and it feels institutionalised. We need to change our culture and we need to change it quickly.

"For too long we have been worried about what people think of us.

"We should be honest with everyone; say it straight up. We weren’t good enough in the World Cup.

"Other teams have developed their skills a lot faster than we have because they were honest enough to say it earlier."

Bopara will head to India to play in next month's Indian Premier League for Sunrisers Hyderabad, one of just two English players in the IPL this year.

His former England teammate Kevin Pietersen announced on Wednesday that he would forgo his contract with the Sunrisers after signing a deal with county side Surrey, the first step in what he hopes is a road back to the England team, but will play in the IPL play-offs should the franchise qualify.

Quick Single: KP signs for Surrey as he pushes for Ashes

Bopara's IPL stint comes after a frustrating six weeks in Australia and New Zealand, which came after he played all nine of England's 50-over matches on tour before their Cup opener against Australia on February 14.

"The World Cup was really frustrating for everybody but especially on a personal note. I would love to have played," he said.

"Leading up to the World Cup we had a settled team and we were all ready. We were quite chilled. And then things just changed all of a sudden and I don’t know why.

"I was surprised (by the team changes) though and I was disappointed.

"I got angry – very angry. Angry with myself and with the guys that made the decision.

"I said to myself then, ‘Right, from now on I’m going to move ahead and be better than the rest’.

"The reason I was given was because they said they weren’t going to use my bowling so there was no point me playing.

"It’s just so frustrating, even sitting here now I am thinking I had no opportunity to make an impact on that World Cup.

"I would rather have played and had a shocker than not played at all."

Bopara, who has played 120 one-day internationals, added a culture of fear has engulfed English cricket and its players.

He used the instance of India's players eating fast food at a training session last year as an example of the relaxed attitude of other nations, one that Bopara is desperate for England to adopt.

"We should develop braver players and stop fearing; there is a sense of fear in the team which we need to get rid of," he said.

"We need to be a bit more free as players, to stop worrying about the consequences.

"If you look at other countries they are more open about things and more honest about things.

"Take the example of the India team eating a McDonald’s on the outfield here last summer. What’s wrong with that?

"They were not worried about how they looked – they were hungry and they wanted to eat."

One of the main criticisms following England's early Cup exit was their reliance on "data", which coach Peter Moores said he would have to analyse to find an answer for their loss to Bangladesh in Adelaide.

Rather than complex data, Bopara said basic statistics like the huge totals racked up in the World Cup is all that's needed to illustrate the gap between England and the tournament heavyweights. 

"You don’t need data to know what’s going on," he said.

"South Africa scoring 400, Australia scoring 400, you don’t need the data.

"You don’t check what over they start going in, you just know you need to get 350.

"We need now to develop our games to that level where we are taking those high risks to get those scores like other teams.

"They are scoring six an over and then crashing it at the end. We need to start doing that and we need to stop limiting ourselves.

"I think we do limit ourselves as English cricketers and I think the system limits us."

England aren't scheduled to play ODI cricket again until a five-match series against New Zealand, starting at Edgbaston on June 9.