‘We will drop at least four players’: R Ashwin on why Bazball can’t work in India
After the thrilling 2023 Ashes series between England and Australia, which is widely considered to be among the greatest Test series of all time, veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin harshly criticised the concept of India playing the 'Bazball' brand of cricket in Test matches.
The England cricket team, led by Ben Stokes, kept their cool despite being down 2-0 in the series against their bitter rivals, the Australia A squad.
The world has taken notice of their aggressive and fearless style of cricket, which is being credited with turning around England's fortunes and making even the longest version of the game interesting.
Many cricket fans in India felt that after watching England's brand of cricket in the longest format, they should try it out for themselves.
Ravichandran Ashwin, an experienced Indian spinner, has criticised the proposal and made it clear that neither Indian fans nor the team's management and selectors will tolerate it.
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"We're in fine form in the Test match." However, change is on the horizon. This is not a simple time period. There will be some hiccups now and again. But let's pretend this is the time when India starts playing Bazball. Let's say one of our players does a Harry Brook and swings wildly, leading to two losses in the Test series.
How shall we proceed? Ashwin asked his YouTube subscribers, "Will we support Bazball and the players?"
At least four players will be removed from the starting lineup. Our society has always been like this. We can't just mimic other teams' strategies because they seem to be winning.
Their selectors and management are on board with this approach, so the players feel comfortable adopting it. The majority of the people that attend and watch Test matches are also on board with the team's efforts.
But we can't," he continued.
The 36-year-old referred to Indian cricket fans as "hindsight kings" and asked for their support in the 2023 World Cup, regardless of who makes the team.
"Guys, it's not simple to win the World Cup. We are doomed to lose no matter who we start or bench. Our collective hindsight makes us all kings. The use of hindsight is useless here. We've made it to the semifinals of every major competition we've entered. Ashwin continued, "We weren't good enough on that day."