Alastair Cook helps team India; reveals England's strategy for Test series

England will be touring India for a five-match Test series starting on January 25 with the first Test to be played in Hyderabad. India has not lost any Test series at home since the loss against England in 2012 where Alastair Cook and his men defeated the hosts 2-1 in the four-match Test series. However, the former skipper has shown some faith in the England team and has counted on the chances of them winning the series against India.

Alastair Cook remained optimistic about England’s chances, relying on their ‘Bazball’ approach, which encourages an attacking style of play right from the start in Test cricket.

This approach was a great success during England’s tour of Pakistan in 2022-23, where they secured a 3-0 victory. However, with the same approach, they drew the Ashes in England in 2023 by 2-2. It is also a notable factor that ‘Bazball’ is yet to lose a Test series.

Alastair Cook thinks that this is the best chance for England to taste success on Indian soil as they won’t be following the traditional rules of batting in the subcontinent conditions.

The ‘Bazball’ style of play is based on the aggressive style of cricket in the red-ball format. Taking on the bowler from ball one and hitting big runs in Test cricket is the most unorthodox style but it has worked its magic for England in the longest format.

“I now think it is their best chance of success. They won’t follow the traditional rules of batting in the subcontinent,” Alastair Cook noted. He explained that the key time for a batsman in the subcontinent is the first 30 balls, where acclimatization is crucial. After 30 balls if the player is set, he can take on the bowlers with full charge and can hit a lot of runs putting pressure on the fielding team.

However, the ‘Bazball’ approach is to bat aggressively right from the start which puts the fielding team on the back foot and the batters capitalize by putting a lot of runs on the board.

Alastair Cook Reckons ‘Bazball’ Will Unsettle Indian Bowlers

Alastair Cook expressed curiosity about India’s response to England’s ‘Bazball’ style of play, suggesting that it could potentially unsettle the Indian bowlers.

While recognizing the challenges posed by the lack of match preparation, Cook’s confidence in England’s ‘Bazball’ approach remains a beacon of hope for the visiting team as they embark on a challenging tour of India.

However, India might not be the best place for a Bazball approach as there are rank turners in India that can be very unsettling for the English batters.

England’s record on turning tracks has not been the best among different nations and India is the hub of highly turning tracks which can prove disastrous for England’s Bazball approach.

India has included some of the best spinners in their squad like Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav. It will be interesting to see England’s approach against such a strong spin line-up. They are the last team to beat India at home in a Test series and they have the potential to repeat the history after 12 years.