Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has thrown his support behind the 'Viratball' strategy as a countermeasure to England's well-known 'Bazball' approach ahead of the upcoming five-Test series commencing in Hyderabad on January 25.
England's batting lineup has embraced an ultra-aggressive style, reminiscent of their head coach Brendon McCullum's playing days. Gavaskar expressed confidence in Virat Kohli's form, stating, "The way he's been batting, his movement looks good. With the form that he's in, we have Viratball to counter Bazball,” in an interview with Star Sports.
Kohli, who is on the verge of joining the 9000-run club in Test cricket, is expected to play a crucial role as India's batting mainstay. Gavaskar highlighted Kohli's impressive conversion rate, noting, "Yeah, conversion means having more hundreds than fifties. With Kohli, he has a similar amount of hundreds and fifties, that means he has a good conversion rate."
While England managed to draw their previous series against India at home, the hosts remain a formidable opponent, having been unbeaten in a Test series since their 1-2 loss to England in the 2012-2013 season.
The upcoming Test series promises an intriguing clash between India's spin prowess, led by experienced campaigners such as Ravichandran Ashwin, and England's aggressive batting strategy. India boasts a formidable spin attack with players like Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel.
Commenting on England's recent approach in Test cricket, Gavaskar remarked, “England have adopted a new approach in Test cricket in the last 1-2 years. It's an aggressive approach where batters look to attack. They just want to play attacking cricket no matter the situation. It'll be interesting to see if this approach works against the spinners of India.” The cricketing world awaits the outcome of this intriguing clash between two contrasting styles of play.
(With Agency Inputs)
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