After England suffered a crushing defeat in the third test of England’s tour of India 2024, former Cricketer Ian Chappell has warned England Cricketer Joe Root to drop Bazball style ahead of the fourth test.
Ian Chappell warns Joe Root
Ian Chappell has recommended Joe Root to play his game naturally rather than adapting Bazball style in the upcoming Tests.
India leads the series 2-1 after England’s defeat in the third test played at Rajkot. Batting first India smashed 445 runs in the first innings.
During England’s first innings, Joe Root was dismissed on Jasprit Bumrah‘s spell when he tried playing a reverse-lap shot off in the Rajkot Test.
England had a decent run as they smashed 224 runs for 2 wickets, but Joe Root’s dismissal foresaw England losing 8 wickets for 95 runs.
They scored 319 runs in the first innings where India had a lead of 126 runs. India scored 430 runs in the second innings and England was all out for 122 runs. Finally, the hosts won the match by 434 runs.
While speaking in an interview, “Root had a bloody fine record playing normally, and he was a quick scorer playing normally. I don’t see why he’s trying to change things drastically, and I’ve never believed you should play premeditated shots,” Chappell said.
He backed the idea of top-order playing in an aggressive style but believed the middle order should play according to the conditions of the match.
While England has won 14 tests out of 21 adapting the Bazball style, their batting order collapsed on Indian pitches due to dubious shot selection.
“You can’t always do it – it’s got to be according to the conditions and also who’s bowling.
“Some bowlers you can score off a lot quicker than others, but when a really good bowler is bowling a good spell, you’ve got to be prepared to try and battle it out and think to yourself ‘Well, when he goes off, it’ll get a bit easier.”
“You’re always trying to score runs – that’s got to be your prime aim. But, you’ve also got to realize some conditions, against some bowlers you can score quicker than others,” he added.
India and England will be playing their fourth Test between February 23 and 27 at JSCA International Cricket Stadium Complex.
