"Follow Joe Root, not Bazball" - Mohammad Kaif tears apart England after Champions Trophy disaster

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has slammed England's ultra-aggressive approach that led to their early exit in the ongoing Champions Trophy. Mohammad Kaif also praised Joe Root and asked England to follow him instead of Bazball.

England were eliminated from the group stage of the Champions Trophy 2025 after losing all their matches. Jos Buttler and his men struggled in various aspects during the tournament and were unable to find any rhythm.

They were unable to defend a target of more than 350 runs in their first match against Australia and then suffered a shocking defeat to a lower-ranked Afghanistan. Their poor campaign ended with another disappointing performance against South Africa.

Also read: Sanjay Manjrekar shockingly claims he will be happy when India lose to New Zealand if..

"Follow Joe Root, not Bazball" - Mohammad Kaif slams England

After England's defeat to South Africa on March 1 (Saturday), Mohammad Kaif took to social media and expressed his views on England's Bazball style of cricket. He believes that England players must look forward to Joe Root, who showed how to bat in such conditions.

Mohammad Kaif also suggested that England need to adjust to the conditions to be a successful team rather than blindly following a particular form of the game without any game awareness.

"England's early exit once again proves 'one nation, one style' doesn't work. You can't blindly follow Bazball across formats. Successful teams win as they adjust to conditions. Follow Joe Root, not Bazball," Kaif posted on X (formerly Twitter).

England's early exit once again proves 'one nation, one style' doesn't work. You can't blindly follow Bazball across formats. Successful teams win as they adjust to conditions. Follow Joe Root, not Bazball.

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) March 1, 2025

England's disappointing run in CT 2025

England were already knocked out of the tournament after losing their second match to Afghanistan. It was their second straight defeat to Afghanistan in ODIs after they lost to them in the ODI World Cup 2023 as well.

In their last group stage match, England suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of South Africa, who also went on to top Group B. After opting to bat first, Jos Buttler and his men were dismissed for just 179 in 38.2 overs.

None of the England batters scored a fifty as South African bowlers kept picking up wickets at regular intervals. Joe Root top-scored for England with 37 off 44 balls while there were minor contributions from the other players as well.

Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder picked up three wickets each with the former picking up the first three wickets to put England in deep trouble earlier. Mulder picked up the big wicket of Joe Root which put England in further trouble.

In reply, South Africa chased down the target despite losing Tristan Stubbs early. Rassie van der Dussen remained unbeaten on 72 off 87 balls while Heinrich Klaasen struck 64 off 56 balls to help the Proteas cruise to the target within 29.1 overs only with seven wickets in hand.

Joe Root shines for England again

As expected, Joe Root was one of the few shining spots for England in the Champions Trophy 2025. Root emerged as the team's second-highest run-scorer behind Ben Duckett with 225 runs in three matches at an average of 75 and a strike rate of 96.56.

Root struck a hundred and a fifty each during this tournament. While the other batters looked to play in an ultra-aggressive mode, Root accumulated runs with ease in his way with a low-risk approach.