"Absolute flop show" - Mohammad Kaif's blunt assessment of Bazball

Bazball was an absolute flop show. These were the words of former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif when he was asked about England’s shambolic 1-4 loss in India in a recent Test series. Kaif appeared in Star Sports’ show called Follow the Blues and there he stated that England almost went inside a shell after claiming victory in the 1st Test.

The England team led by Ben Stokes were expected to put up a dominating display after winning the 1st Test by 28 runs in Hyderabad. However, the hosts led by Rohit Sharma staged a terrific comeback from the 2nd Test onwards as they won by 106 runs in Vizag. Mohammad Kaif pointed out that when England won the 1st match, it was expected to remain an even contest but India were just too powerful at the back end of the series.

Mohammad Kaif praises Rohit Sharma for good captaincy and batting performance

Mohammad Kaif then heaped praise on Rohit Sharma for his smart captaincy and batting in the series. Rohit scored 2 centuries in the series, in 3rd Test at Rajkot and in the 5th one at Dharamshala. The way he managed the in-experienced Indian team full of youthful faces was just exceptional and Kaif believes he should be given credit for that.

“Bazball was an absolute flop show. When they (England) won the first Test match, it seemed like it would be a very good series. It’s a big thing to win the first Test match when you come to India. After that, to lose Test matches continuously and to lose the series, I feel Bazball was slightly exposed. Rohit Sharma captained very well and showed good form.” – Mohammad Kaif said via Star Sports.

The series win was made possible due to contributions from different players in different situations. But there was one player in common whose participation paid dividends for India and that was of course the Man of the Series Yashasvi Jaiswal. The 22-year-old, who scored 2 double centuries, was a major revelation in the 5-match series which was also his first home red-ball outing.

Indian vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah also deserves plaudits for his bowling performance throughout and for acting like a game-changer in certain situations. It was his 5-wicket haul in the 2nd Test along with Jaiswal’s maiden double hundred that helped India level the series by 1-1.

Up next are debutants except for Rajat Patidar – Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Devdutt Padikkal, and Akash Deep – who also chipped in when required.

Mohammad Kaif points out senior players missing the series

Mohammad Kaif then went on to claim that England should be thinking about how they lost the series despite the major absence of Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah too in some parts of the series.

“Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Shami weren’t there in this series. It means many key players were missing. Even (Ravindra) Jadeja and (Jasprit) Bumrah didn’t play in the middle. It’s a huge thing to win the series in the absence of many key players,” Mohammad Kaif concluded.