‘Need full backing from team management and fans’: Ashwin on India adopting ‘Bazball’ in Tests | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The ‘Bazball‘ is the latest buzzword resonating in the cricketing circle and with England successfully executing it in the recently concluded drawn Ashes series against Australia, it has earned plaudits from purists to fans across the globe.

But the big question is – Will Bazball turn out equally good for India? veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has a different take and minced no words in expressing his views on this issue as he feels the attacking approach, specially in the five-day format, needs full backing not only from the team management but also from the enthusiastic Indian fans like the England team getting it from ECB and the crowd.

Ashwin, while speaking on his YouTube channel on India adopting ‘Bazball’, said: “We are playing Test cricket really well. But we will go through a transition very soon, and things won’t be easy during that phase. There will be a few issues here and there.”
“But let us assume India is adopting Bazball during this transition phase. Let us assume a player throws his bat at everything like Harry Brook and gets out and we lose two Test matches. What will we do? Will we back the Bazball and the players? We will drop at least four players from our playing XI,” Ashwin said.

“That’s how our culture has always been. So, we can’t copy others’ style of play just because it worked for them,” the off-spinner elaborated.
“It works for them because their management is fully in with this style of play, their selectors back the players to play this way. In fact, even their crowd and Test match-watching public are backing the team in this process. But we can’t do this,” Ashwin categorically stated.