The Indian head coach and the former opening batter of the national side, Gautam Gambhir, has seemed to be taking a dig towards the popular ‘Bazball’ trend that Ben Stokes’ England side has grown up in the last two years since Joe Root stepped down from the leader’s position in the longest format of the game.
Indian team is starting their long home season with two tests against touring Bangladesh, as the first game is going to take place at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Gautam Gambhir, who had a merry-go-round start in his coaching tenure with a T20I series win and an ODI series defeat in Sri Lanka, is up against his first assignment at home.
During the pre-match press conference, the veteran emphasized the specific style of play that’s required to play the red-ball format, and at the end of the day, it’s the result of that encounter that matters the most to the entire world.
“Giving a name to a certain style”- Gautam Gambhir
Since Ben Stokes has carried the responsibility of the England team in the longest format of the game, the side has enjoyed huge growth, as they have drawn only one counter at home since the home summer in 2022, which happened because of the relentless rain at Manchester during the Ashes 2023.
England has won a huge number of games, but there have been times when they have let the opposition come at them and snatch the win from their jaws. An example of it was the recent third Test match at the Kennington Oval against Sri Lanka, where despite enjoying a healthy lead at the end of the first innings of both sides, some poor batting saw them getting bundled out for a low score, as the visiting side chased it down quite easily.
Gautam Gambhir pointed out that adopting one particular style for the longest format of the game might not help the side in the growth as he wants his side to be prepared for every situation of the game, along with the conditions.
“I‘ve always been a believer that the best style is the style that wins, and we want to be a team that adapts and that learns quickly rather than adopting one style.” The Delhi-born expressed during the pre-match presser on the eve of the Chennai Test. “If you start adopting one style, then there is no growth. We want guys to be playing the situation, the conditions, and then keep growing every day, and that is all that matters.”
The 42-year-old pointed out that naming a certain style in the game and playing in that same way might not help all the time, as the victories would only matter at the end.
“All this, giving a name to a certain style and playing only one way. So ultimately, sport is all about results. And the best, as I just mentioned, the best style is the style that wins.” Gautam Gambhir concluded.
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Under Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, the aim for the England side has been to entertain the fans around the globe, as they haven’t paid much attention to the wins of the game, which could be datable. However, the fans and the former players have displayed mixed emotions towards the trend.
The acid test for Gautam Gambhir would be to make a hat-trick of series win in Test cricket in Australia. They will also be delighted to make the team qualified for the third consecutive final of the World Test Championship (WTC).