"I would suggest using the skipper’s first name, Rohit, and term it the “Gohit” approach" - Gavaskar on India's batting in IND vs BAN 2024 2nd Test
Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar dismissed the side's attacking approach in the second Test win over Bangladesh in Kanpur being branded as different versions of 'Bazball'. Gavaskar instead suggested India's revolutionary approach should be named 'Gohit' after skipper Rohit Sharma.
For the uninitiated, England's all-guns-blazing approach with the bat over the past two years is commonly referred to as 'Bazball,' named after their head coach Brendon McCullum. India followed a similar blueprint after rain washed out all but 35 overs of the opening three days in the second Test against Bangladesh.
They scored 285/9 in under 35 overs in their first innings on Day 4 to give themselves a chance of forcing a result. After the bowlers performed a demolition job on Bangladesh in the second innings, the hosts required only 95 to win and they achieved the same inside 18 overs.
In his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar dismissed terms like 'Gamball', derived from 'Bazball', and named it after skipper Rohit instead.
"Instead of using the words this-ball or that-ball, I would suggest using the skipper’s first name, Rohit, and term it the “Gohit” approach. Hopefully, brainier people will come up with a trendier name for this rather than the lazy option of calling it after “Bazball," wrote Gavaskar.
He added:
"While one paper called the Indian batting “Bossball” because the captain or “boss” of the team, Rohit, had shown the way, some from the old powers referred to it as “Gamball” after the Indian coach, Gautam Gambhir."
India broke several records during their rampaging batting display in the first innings, including the fastest 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 in Test history.
They also achieved the highest-ever run-rate of 7.36 in the two innings combined in a Test match.
"It was called this because “Baz” is the nickname of their coach, Brendon McCullum" - Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar reminded everyone that the 'Bazball' term came into existence because England's current head coach Brendon McCullum used to practice a similar approach when he captained New Zealand during his playing career.
"This Indian batting approach was labelled this-ball and that-ball after the term “Bazball” was coined for the England team’s batting attitude. It was called this because “Baz” is the nickname of their coach, Brendon McCullum from New Zealand, who batted exactly as his team is doing — throwing caution to the winds in an attempt to score runs," wrote Gavaskar.
The second Test win helped India secure a 2-0 series whitewash over Bangladesh and achieve their 18th consecutive home series victory in Tests.