“We will drop at least 4 players from our playing XI” - Ravichandran Ashwin's brutal take on why Bazball won’t work for India
Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has opined that “Bazball” won’t work in Indian cricket because the country has a completely different culture in comparison to England. He quipped that at least four players would get dropped if India attempt Bazball and fail.
England cricket team’s ultra-aggressive batting approach, dubbed as Bazball (after coach Brendon McCullum), has been one of the big talking points in cricket over the last few months. It was in focus during the recently concluded Ashes 2023 as well, which ended 2-2.
India, meanwhile, showed glimpses of unconventionally aggressive batting during the Test series in West Indies. However, on his YouTube channel, Ashwin explained why he feels the brand of cricket won’t work for India.
“Let us assume India is playing Bazball during their transition phase. Let us assume a player throws his bat at everything like Harry Brook, gets out and we lose two Test matches. What will we do?
"Will we back Bazball and the players? We will drop at least four players from our playing XI. That’s how our culture has always been. So, we can’t copy others’ style of play just because it worked for them,” Ashwin said.
The 36-year-old went on to add that England’s cricketers can play Babzall freely, as they have the full support of the team management, selectors and fans.
“It works for them because their management is fully in with this style of play. The selectors back the players to play this way. In fact, even their crowd and the Test match-watching public are backing the team in this process. We can’t do that,” the seasoned spinner added.
Bazball's next destination:
Hyderabad after 177 days...!! pic.twitter.com/646Whlm2Kd
England lost the first two Tests of Ashes 2023 but did not deviate from their aggressive batting approach and ended up winning two of the last three Tests.
“We refined it slightly as the series wore on” - McCullum on Bazball
Sharing his thoughts on a closely contest Ashes series, England Test coach McCullum hinted that they might have gone overboard with his aggressive attitude at the start but added that they refined their style as the series progressed.
“Sometimes, we'll get the balance wrong with the style we play, but you've got teams good enough to stand up to you and make you pay when the time comes, and Australia did that in the first couple of Test matches. But we refined it slightly as the series wore on,” McCullum commented.
England bowled out Australia for 334 on Day 5 of The Oval Test to win by 49 runs and level the series 2-2.