Like England’s Bazball, India’s batting is also aggressive but in Dubai they have recalibrated by playing the conditions, swapping adventurism for prudence and avoiding emotion-fuelled bravado
India captain Rohit Sharma during his knock of 41 against Bangladesh at Dubai recently. Pic/Getty Images
When Brendon McCullum was appointed head coach of the England Test team in May 2022, he arrived armed with the mantra of positivity and aggression. England were going nowhere as a Test team under the management group of captain Joe Root and coach Chris Silverwood; McCullum and new skipper Ben Stokes redefined their approach to the five-day game.
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That was the genesis of Bazball, as the new England Test-match dynamic has come to be known. Taking the attacking option to the exclusion of almost everything else. When it comes off, it is spectacular. When it doesn’t, it can look silly and self-defeating. Which has been the case quite frequently, but England are determined not to veer from their avowed goal.
Losses in the McCullum era
They have lost more than a third of their 35 Tests in the McCullum era and haven’t won an overseas series since beating Pakistan 3-0 (Dec 2022). They were hammered 1-in India early last year and beaten 1-2 in Pakistan in October. It’s a price they are willing to pay — in Test cricket — in their commitment to the style of play they’ve sought to make their own.
Contrast this with India, who have also made a commitment to be positive and aggressive from the get-go in white-ball cricket. They have created their own template, allowed players to grow into their roles, take responsibility for their actions and ensure that their personal ambitions don’t come in the way of team goals. With an unwritten, unspoken rider — be smart, use commonsense, don’t be a one-trick pony.
Not just in T20s but also in the longer limited-overs version, India’s rejigged approach to batting is hard to miss. There is ferocious intent at the top — let’s stick to ODIs, given that the context is the Champions Trophy — with the captain taking the lead role in setting the example. Rohit Sharma’s selflessness has been the driving force behind India’s terrific 50-over charge in the last couple of years, but he has only been able to go after the bowling from the off because of the riches that follow him down the order.
India’s brazen counterpunching took them to the final of the World Cup at home until they ran into a tartar in Australia, and while they came unstuck against spin on raging turners in Colombo in August, they have since regrouped and showcased an adaptability that is the hallmark of any top side. Against England at home, in McCullum’s first outing as white-ball boss, India decimated Jos Buttler’s men on flat tracks that encouraged their brand of batsmanship.
Conditions apply
But here in Dubai, they have been forced to recalibrate because the surfaces haven’t facilitated uninhibited stroke-making. So, India have pulled back, played the situation and the conditions, swapped adventurism for prudence — Rohit has been the exception, as he always will be — and refused to be sucked into emotion-fuelled bravado that can be so counterproductive, given the circumstances. Along the way, they have told themselves that it is all right to be a little less gung-ho if that is what is the need of the hour. That it’s not just about the destination — the journey also matters.
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