Former England captain Nasser Hussain stated that Indian fans are eager to see the Bazball style of play of the England team being put to rest in the upcoming five-Test series between India and England which starts January 25 in Hyderabad.
The five Test matches will be part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship (WTC 2023-25). England has not won a Test series in India since 2012 and were routed 2-1 the last time they visited India in 2021 amidst the Covid pandemic.
The five Test matches will be played on January 25 in Hyderabad, February 2nd in Visakhapatnam, February 15 in Rajkot, February 23 in Ranchi and March 7 in Dharamshala.
England’s ‘Bazball’ style of play has gained quite a following thanks to captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum’s innovative and aggressive strategy of batters playing their shots from the get go and putting pressure on opposition bowlers and the team.
It helped England achieve a 3-0 white-wash in Tests in Pakistan some time ago and gave the mighty Australians a run for their money as well in the last Ashes series at home.
“There’s been a lot of talk about Indian cricket and there’s been a lot of talk about Bazball. My sense in the World Cup was that a lot of Indian fans are waiting to see how to put Bazball to bed,” said Hussain on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast.
There have been discussions regarding what kind of pitches the Indian grounds would have. From flat tracks to turning tracks, anything is possible. Hussain says that India should request turning tracks. He also stated that England has a chance to win if the tracks turn, bringing in the English spinners as well.
He said, “I think what India should do is ask for good pitches that spin a bit because I think their spinners and batters will then out-bat and out-spin ours. If they ask for pitches that spin a lot then it becomes a bit of a lottery and brings England’s spinners into the game. The way Bazball goes about its business, they won’t die wondering.”
The last time England won a Test series in India in 2012, Kevin Pietersen had done well and even Alaiastair Cook boasts of a good record in India. Nasser Hussain believes that England also needs to be wary of their high-risk approach as well to the longest format.
“Low, slow, and they get 500 in a day or whatever. So, don’t expect what we saw last time where batters are just pushing and prodding. I talked to Swanny about the balance last week. We have seen Cook getting 190-odd in India, and Pietersen scoring 180-odd in India. Two completely different, but hugely successful, so still high risk is high risk,” he concluded.
India will look to make their home advantage count as they aim to win the series and go up the ranks in the points table.
(PTI inputs)
