Ahead of the fifth and final Test of the five-match series against England in Dharamsala, India captain Rohit Sharma expressed uncertainty about the meaning of “Bazball.” The term, coined by English cricket commentator Simon Hughes, refers to England’s aggressive batting approach under new coach Brendon McCullum.
“I honestly don’t know what [Bazball] means, whether it is to go and strike, whether it is to go and defend and wait for the loose ball,” Rohit said in the pre-match press conference.
Rohit questioned the significance of the term, stating that he had not witnessed any excessive swinging from England’s batters. “I have not seen any wild swinging from anyone, so I don’t know exactly what this term means,” he added.
Despite his uncertainty about the term, Rohit acknowledged England’s improved performance since McCullum’s appointment. “But, yeah, clearly they have played better cricket from what they played the last time they were here,” he said. “And you got to give credit to two of their batters who got big hundreds there and played well.”
Rohit also responded to England opener Ben Duckett’s comment that Yashasvi Jaiswal’s aggressive batting was influenced by Bazball. “There was a guy called Rishabh Pant in our team, probably Ben Duckett hasn’t seen him play,” Rohit said.
England have faced three consecutive losses in the series, unable to capitalize on their early 1-0 advantage. The visitors had their chances, notably in Rajkot and Ranchi, but India came back strong on both occasions to win.
The fifth and final Test match will begin on March 7 at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala and conclude on March 11, 2024. India and England still have World Test Championship points to gain in Dharamsala, even though the series is decided. India is on top of the World Test Championship standings while England is eighth on the points table.
