NEW DELHI: The cricketing world is abuzz with discussions surrounding England's
Bazball
approach since their 1-4 loss against India in the five-match series.
Indian star spinner
Ravichandran Ashwin
, who finished the series as highest wicket-taker with 26 scalps, also joined the bandwagon, claiming that Bazball is just not confined to aggressive cricket but it is also a defenseless cricket.
He also expressed his astonishment at
Joe Root
, known for his sound batting technique, adopting a similar approach.
"The one thing I understood after the first Test is that Bazball isn't just aggressive cricket. It is defenseless cricket. They aren't going to play a defensive shot at all. They are going to get out if they play defense. To my surprise, Joe Root also agreed to their game plan. Because if you take world cricket's vest defense rankings, Root is an easy number 1 on that list against spin. He also bought into their approach," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin also opined that England had gone too far when pacer
James Anderson
backed his team to chase down 600 in the second Test.
"James Anderson went into a press conference in the second Test after winning the first considerably well. Much respect to them for winning that. He told the press that even if the 4th innings target was 500 or 600, we'll finish it in 60 overs. Even though it was an example of their positive mindset, it felt like they had gone too far," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel," he added.
"The chat last night from the coach (
Brendon McCullum
) was that if they get 600, we were going to go for it. It makes it very clear to everyone that we will try to do it tomorrow. I know there are 180 overs left in the game, but we will try to do it in 60 or 70. That’s the way we play, and we saw that tonight with Rehan (Ahmed) going out and playing his shots," Anderson had said during the second Test.
Earlier, England's coach Brendon McCullum openly admitted that the team's much-touted 'Bazball' approach requires significant adjustments.
In a candid assessment, McCullum conceded to the travelling British media, "Sometimes, you can get away with things. But when you're exposed the way we have been in the back end of this series in particular, it does require some pretty deep thinking and some adjustment to make sure we're staying true to what we believe in."
English (US) ·