Ian Chappell, the former Australia captain, has encouraged Joe Root, the struggling England batsman, to abandon the ‘Bazball’ strategy and return to his natural playing style.
Senior batsman Root has faced difficulties in scoring runs during the current five-match series against India, managing only low scores in six innings. While adhering to England’s aggressive Bazball strategy, Root has often been dismissed attempting extravagant shots in India.
“Root had an excellent record when playing in his usual style, and he was a rapid scorer in that mode,” Chappell remarked to ‘Wide World of Sports’, dismissing Bazball as “nonsense”.
“I fail to see why he’s attempting such drastic changes, and I’ve always maintained that playing premeditated shots isn’t advisable,” Chappell remarked.
Root, boasting over 11,000 Test runs, faced significant criticism for his dismissal in England’s first innings of the third Test, where he tried to reverse sweep Jasprit Bumrah but only managed to edge the ball to slip.
His departure triggered a batting collapse. England, standing at 224/2 when Root was dismissed, lost eight wickets for 95 runs, ultimately getting bowled out for 319 and conceding India a 126-run lead in the first innings.
England suffered a colossal defeat in the Test, losing by 434 runs, marking their largest defeat in terms of runs since 1934.
Chappell argued that while it’s essential for top-order batsmen to aim for aggressive scoring, they must also adapt to the match circumstances.
“You can’t always go for it—it depends on the conditions and who’s bowling,” he emphasized.
Bumrah has now dismissed Root nine times in Test cricket.
“Some bowlers allow you to score more freely than others, but when a top-quality bowler is in a good spell, you have to be ready to dig in and tell yourself, ‘It’ll ease up once he’s done’.
“The goal is always to score runs—that’s your main focus. However, you also need to understand that in certain conditions, against certain bowlers, scoring may come more easily than against others.”
