Team India’s aggressive test batting approach earned widespread praise

India got all-around praise for their aggressive batting in the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur as their dynamic approach ensured a comfortable seven-wicket victory. The victory was all the more creditable as as many as two-and-a-half days were lost to continuous rain, thereby giving the hosts hardly any time to reach the target score on the final day.

As admirable as the intent from India was, it did raise a debate for which former England captain Michael Vaughan had something to say on social media. He tweeted on X: “I see India are playing Bazball, referring to the ultra-aggressive style by England under their coach Brendon McCullum, popularly known as Bazball.”

A comparison to Bazball-a term coined to describe the fearless approach of England-didn’t quite sit well with Indian cricket great Sunil Gavaskar. Gavaskar indirectly responded to Vaughan’s remarks, taking a subtle dig at former cricketers who have been rather quick to link India’s batting style to England’s approach. Team India’s aggressive test-batting approach has been quite impressive in recent times.

Gavaskar’s Take on India’s Approach

In the article, Gavaskar seemed to suggest that a few of the former experts, without naming any directly, seem to go out of their way to compare or credit India’s recent approach to Bazball. He criticized the tendency to attribute India’s success to the popular “Bazball” terminology; that was a lazy way of categorizing a strategy that had its own distinct roots in Indian cricket.

“Much as any scandal is termed this-gate or that-gate ever since the Watergate scandal well over 50 years ago in the USA, the batting approach of India was quickly labeled this-ball and that-ball,” Gavaskar wrote. He said this kind of lazy naming didn’t capture what India had been doing under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. While Bazball had been a direct result of England’s new ‘go-for-it’ philosophy under McCullum, India’s style, Gavaskar pointed out, was essentially a continuum of what Rohit had been building over the past few years.

The Transformative Impact of Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma was obvious evidence for Gavaskar that offered the prospective player a completely different playing style in the Indian team, rather than a conventional and orthodox one. He also acknowledged the then skipper of the Indian team for the boldness that he inculcated in the team’s game even much earlier before Gautam Gambhir became the head coach of the Indian team. As a matter of fact, Gavaskar mocked the attempts by some to credit Gambhir with the transformation.

“Some called it ‘Bossball’ because Rohit, as the ‘boss’ of the team, has been leading the way,” Gavaskar said. “Others referred to it as ‘Gamball’ after Indian coach Gautam Gambhir. But Rohit has been playing with this aggressive intent for years. Gambhir has only been in charge for a couple of months. To suggest that this approach is all down to him is nothing short of absurd.”

Cricket World Reacts as India Embarks on Brash New Chapter

Comments like these from Gavaskar are indicative of a larger trend in world cricket, where aggressive batting has grown little by little into the hallmarks of the more successful teams. The Bazball revolution of England with McCullum and Ben Stokes-which changed the course of English Test cricket identity silently a testimony to this fact. Huge victories were coming in, courtesy of their no-holds-barred attack. But India’s recent success signals that the aggressive approach isn’t some kind of English monopolization-the whole cricket world is taking notice.

The difference India is now trying to make is from traditionally conservative Test cricket strategies to bold and fearless batting. The Indian team under Rohit Sharma has taken into an attack-minded approach, innovating their way and being positive about getting runs on board rather than building defenses. This may look like Bazball from England, but the context and realization would be quite different. It’s all been a very aggressive strategy emanating from Rohit’s leadership and some natural attacking instincts from his players; a very unique brand of cricket that reflects their strengths.

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International cricket has slowly moved to a rushed game, with teams adapting to the demand for results in the modern game. What is happening with this new approach of India is an acknowledgment that in a world where rain delays can eat up so much valuable match time, as was seen during the Test in Kanpur, teams can no longer afford to play conservatively. Every session matters and batting aggressively gives teams a chance to force results, even in challenging conditions.

A Separate Entity: “Gohit” of India

Going ahead, Gavaskar said that instead of lazily referring to India’s strategy as some variant of Bazball, it deserved its own name reflecting Rohit’s influence on the team’s evolution. He suggested the term “Gohit” to encapsulate the aggressive positive style of play of the captain, which has been so instrumental in this success.

This is not just some sort of retaliatory factor to England’s Bazball; rather, it is the organic evolution of an attacking cricket that has been in gestation during the captaincy timeline of Rohit. India’s vast reserve of bowlers, captained by the fierce Rohit has not relented in mounting an attack while using an accommodating batting order in the ongoing World Test Championship. The tropical feat is wasted on no other than – borrowing from their dictionary – Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Shubman Gill who take on the responsibility of providing the runs in that particular dangerous style.

The odds in favor of a win in India Bangladesh were beaten and that itself reasonably answers the query ‘How practical is this in reality, no matter how inappropriate the circumstances?’ Instead of going for a draw and wasting a lot of time in a double century test due to rain, India marched forward and upped the ante – essentially declaring what present test cricket would be all about.

FAQs:

Q: What is Cricket Bazball?

A: Bazball is the term given to the style of cricket played by the England cricket team with the coaching of Brendon McCullum and the captaincy of Ben Stokes. It denotes a fearlessness while batting, the high run rates that have successfully nullified the more orthodox methods in Test match cricket.

Q: How has Rohit Sharma been responsible for bringing aggression into India’s batting?

A: Rohit Sharma has been in the thick of things regarding shaping India’s aggressive approach toward Test cricket. Under his captaincy, proactive and attacking cricket commended itself to India’s success recently.

Q: Why did Michael Vaughan compare India’s approach to Bazball?

A: Vaughan also drew a comparison between the aggressive batting of India, similar to the Baseball style of England, as both have adapted to an attacking approach to Test cricket, though India has its roots under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.

Q: What does Sunil Gavaskar say about naming India’s approach after Bazball?

A: Sunil Gavaskar criticizes the tendency to apply India’s batting with some variant of Bazball, and there is a feeling that Rohit Sharma deserves some credit for his influence. He suggested naming it the “Gohit” approach to reflect Rohit’s role in shaping India’s style.