Legendary spinner Anil Kumble has asked the England think tank to introspect after they succumbed to a series-conceding five-wicket defeat at the hands of India in Ranchi on Monday (February 26).
This series loss marked a significant setback for England's previously heralded ultra-aggressive 'Bazball' approach, which has been their winning mantra since 2022.
After adopting the ‘Bazball’ approach, the Three Lions have won 14 out of 23 Tests but the strategy is facing flak for being too inflexible and lacking in depth
Kumble has also joined the bandwagon, emphasizing that Test cricket demands adaptability to different situations and winning in India was always going to be a difficult task.
“The challenge when England came here was obvious. Bazball or whatever ball you want to call it, playing in India and beating India here was never going to be easy. India have never lost a series at home in the last decade. They (England) knew that they had to be different but their bowling attack wasn’t something that they believed would be able to penetrate India’s batting line-up,” Kumble said on Jio Cinema.
“England’s senior batters including Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root, other than the Ranchi Test, didn’t contribute consistently. There were some key moments that they grabbed on a couple of occasions but other key moments they let go. It’s all nice to say that ‘this is the way I bat’, but you can’t bat like that all the time. You have to hold back,” he added.
"In Test match cricket, that’s what it is. It’s about situations and that’s what Root did in this (Ranchi) match. No wonder he was successful, something that England will have to discuss and look at," he further remarked.
Kumble also shared his thoughts on the pitch in Ranchi while adding that thinking about pitch conditions and DRS calls affects the team's mindset.
"The pitch certainly got slower. But the moment you start thinking about the pitch, about conditions, about DRS or things that are not in your control, it certainly starts affecting your mindsets and that’s something the opposition will pick on," he said.
(With IANS Inputs)
