Ravichandran Ashwin: Indian spinner raises doubts on ‘Bazball’ style

The
style
of
their
aggressive
play
has
been
coined
as
‘Bazball’,
a
term
that
comes
from
their
head
coach
Brendon
McCullum.
The
current
set
of
English
players
have
also
executed
their
plans
perfectly.
Joe
Root,
Harry
Brook,
Ben
Stokes
and
others
have
been
excellent
in
implementing
their
visions
as
the
England
team
have
tasted
success
against
Pakistan
and
New
Zealand.

While
many
have
been
lauding
the
brand
new
approach
to
play
Test
cricket,
India’s
premier
spinner
Ravichandran
Ashwin
is
not
that
much
convinced
by
‘Bazball’,
and
believes
conditions
need
to
be
respected
when
it
comes
to
Test
cricket.

“We
now
have
a
concept
called
Bazball.
England
is
playing
high-paced
Test
match
cricket.
They
want
to
play
a
certain
style
of
cricket.
But
in
certain
types
of
wicket,
when
you
try
and
attack
every
ball,
you
will
falter.
There
are
both
advantages
and
disadvantages
to
this
approach,”
Ashwin
said.

“Some
will
ask
instead
of
defending
and
getting
all
out
for
100,
I
will
slog
it
out
and
get
all
out
for
140.
We
will
only
know
when
the
game
pans
out
that
the
approach
works
or
not.
Sometimes,
on
the
wicket,
conditions
need
to
be
respected.
If
you
respect
the
pitch
and
play
accordingly,
the
pitch
will
also
respect
you.
If
you
respect
the
pitch,
it
will
pay
you
dividends,”
he
explained.

Ashwin
has
been
one
of
the
main
architects
for
India
in
the
ongoing
Test
series
against
Australia.
The
off-spinner
has
picked
up
14
wickets
in
the
Border
Gavaskar
Trophy
so
far,
three
behind
the
leading
wicket-taker
Ravindra
Jadeja.
India
are
already
2-0
up
in
the
series
and
have
retained
the
trophy.

The
final
two
matches
will
have
huge
consequences
as
the
results
will
determine
the
final
standing
of
the
WTC
table,
and
will
play
a
big
part
in
the
ICC
Test
rankings.

Is
Bazball
the
future
of
Tests?

Bazball
for
now
looks
like
a
groundbreaking
trend
for
playing
Test
cricket.
The
quick-scoring
approach
not
only
gets
the
scoreboard
ticking,
but
provides
entertainment
as
well.
It
has
worked
so
well
for
the
English
side
that
they
have
continued
with
it
in
different
conditions.
But
will
it
be
the
way
to
move
forward?
Not
convinced
particularly.
Yes,
it
is
working
well
in
flat
conditions,
but
the
approach
and
mindset
will
require
a
tweak
when
the
conditions
change.
It
will
be
tough
to
implement
Bazball
in
rank
turners,
or
when
the
ball
is
seaming
in
overcast
conditions.
As
Ashwin
perfectly
said,
there
are
advantages
and
disadvantages.
But
on
the
other
side,
at
least
it
opens
up
a
new
avenue
in
Test
cricket,
which
needs
to
be
appreciated.