Ben Stokes shuts down former England cricketers criticizing Bazball after Rajkot Test defeat, calls them out for speaking sh*t

England skipper Ben Stokes had a rough session with the critics over the past few days after their shambolic defeat of 434 runs against India in the third Test of the five-match series. The third Test match was played at the Niranjan Shah Cricket Stadium in Rajkot where India registered a record win by 434 runs, the biggest win margin for India in Tests in terms of runs.

Ben Stokes has faced severe criticism for the Bazball philosophy as it has been a complete failure in this ongoing Test series.

India won the toss and elected to bat first in Rajkot and put 445 runs on the board laying back on centuries by skipper Rohit Sharma and the local hero Ravindra Jadeja.

England then initiated a fightback as Ben Duckett smashed 153 during England’s first innings but still England was bundled for 319. Yashasvsi Jaiswal’s 214 and some excellent batting by Shubman Gill (91) and Sarfaraz Khan (68*) powered India to 430/4 in the second innings giving a 557-run target to England.

England was embarrassingly bundled for just 122 in their second innings with Ravindra Jadeja taking a fifer and India won the match by 434 runs. Ben Stokes was asked about the criticism that Bazball is receiving after their loss against India in the third Test.

Stokes was asked whether he was surprised to see the criticism to which he replied that it was not surprising for him given that they lost the match and when something doesn’t go well, it receives some criticism.

“No, it’s sport, innit. You get plaudits when it goes well and a bit of s**t when it doesn’t. It’s part of it. I’ve been around long enough to know, but we crack on,” Ben Stokes said when he was asked about whether he was surprised after the loss against India in the third Test in Rajkot.

Ben Stokes was Unfazed by the critics of Bazball after the third Test

Ben Stokes is unfazed by the Bazball backlash after England’s defeat in Rajkot 😤https://t.co/T4Jp7RCzA8 | #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/r69aKGihJW

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 21, 2024

India is now leading the series against England by 2-1 and is aiming to seal the series in the fourth Test of this five-match Test series. The next game will be played at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium in Ranchi and India will be aiming to seal the series by winning the fourth Test. Ben Stokes-led England side won the series opener in Hyderabad by 28 runs but have lost two games back-to-back in Vizag and Rajkot respectively.

Ben Stokes has not been defeated in a bilateral Test series and the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma holds the same record and both of them are fighting to maintain their unbeaten record.

In the ongoing series, one of the captains will be defeated for the first time in the Test series and the situation is not looking well poised for Ben Stokes and England. India has not lost a Test series at home since 2012. They were last defeated by England in 2012 when Sir Alastair Cook led the English side to a 2-1 win over India.