"Bazball is defensive cricket.."- Ravichandran Ashwin
Updated - 13 Mar 2024, 01:09 PM
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Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin recently commented on England’s Bazball approach following the five-match Test series between the two sides. Ravichandran Ashwin also expressed surprise at Joe Root’s batting style despite having a solid defensive technique.
The Ben Stokes-led team arrived in India with an attacking mindset. The visiting side stunned the Rohit Sharma-led team with a victory during the series opener in Hyderabad. Despite conceding a 190-run first innings lead, they managed to secure the victory.
However, the Three Lions suffered four consecutive losses in the recently concluded series. It marked their first Test series defeat under head coach Brendon McCullum‘s tenure. The Indian team achieved a 4-1 victory, securing their 17th consecutive home series win.
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It Is Defenseless Cricket – Ravichandran Ashwin
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin criticized England’s Bazball approach, describing it as defenseless cricket. Ashwin expressed surprise at Joe Root’s approach, given his reputation as the top player against spin in the world.
“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.
Joe Root adopted an aggressive approach in the first three matches. The right-handed batter failed to cross the 30-run mark and faced criticism for his shot selection. However, he returned to his natural game in the last two games and found success with the bat.
The 33-year-old batsman scored an unbeaten 122 runs in the first innings of the fourth Test in Ranchi. However, his effort was in vain as England suffered a five-wicket loss. He also scored 84 runs in the second innings of the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala.
The former England skipper ended the series with 320 runs in 10 innings at an average of 35.56. He smashed one half-century and one century. He was the third-leading run scorer for the England team in the series, behind openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett.
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We Could Have Seen Two Draws – Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin suggested that if Australia had played against India on similar pitches, there might have been a couple of drawn matches. He emphasized that England’s aggressive approach led to results in every match.
“There were many times in this series when I thought, if this were against Australia instead of England, we could have seen two draws instead of results. At least one, because of the classic cricket pitches. But because of this new English approach to going for the kill, they put us under very unique pressure. Them playing three sessions is equal to us playing six in terms of runs scored, and so every match was bound to go for a result,” Ravichandran Ashwin added.
