England’s unique brand of ‘Bazball’ cricket, spearheaded by Brendon McCullum since June 2022, has earned them significant success, with impressive wins over top teams like South Africa, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, and Australia, as well as an important Ashes draw against their arch-rivals. The approach to Test cricket has captivated global audiences, making England an exciting team to watch. Despite growing support for Test cricket to embrace this style for producing results and eliminating draws, Indian veteran R Ashwin disagrees with the idea of India following suit.
Ashwin, on his YouTube channel, expressed concerns about adopting the Bazball approach, believing it might not yield the desired outcomes for the national team.
In a recent video, R Ashwin addressed the possibility of India replicating England’s approach and highlighted potential pitfalls, especially given the changing nature of the format in India. He said, “We are playing Test cricket really well. But we will go through a transition very soon, and things won’t be easy during that phase. There will be a few issues here and there.”
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R Ashwin also pointed out that Indian fans and management are not as patient as English fans and management, and that this would make it difficult for India to adopt “Bazball”.
“But let us assume India is adopting Bazball during this transition phase,” R Ashwin said. “Let us assume a player throws his bat at everything like Harry Brook and gets out and we lose two Test matches. What will we do? Will we back the Bazball and the players? We will drop at least four players from our playing XI.”
Ashwin’s comments come after England’s recent success with “Bazball”, which is a more aggressive approach to Test cricket that has seen them win several matches in recent months. However, Ashwin believes that India’s current approach is more sustainable in the long run.
“Our approach is more balanced,” R Ashwin said. “We can play attacking cricket when we need to, but we can also play defensively when we need to. I think that’s a more sustainable approach.”
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R Ashwin’s comments are likely to be welcomed by many Indian fans, who are already concerned that “Bazball” could lead to a decline in the quality of Test cricket. However, it remains to be seen whether India will be able to maintain their current level of success without adopting a more aggressive approach.
