Won't give up on Bazball, won't interfere in pitch preparation, hints India coach

The Indian team will continue playing their aggressive brand of cricket and wait for to hit the upward curve even though the aggression led to their downfall in the second Test, according to India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.

“I felt they (New Zealand) exploited the conditions well and were consistent. Having said that, when you talk about intent and try to play aggressively, it may not work out [sometimes],” said

“I think Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir) said this before that sometimes you will get games like Bangladesh where you go and get fastest fifty, 100, 150, 200, or 250. Then there are going to be days when it is not going to look as good. Sometimes it is about sticking to the process and belief systems.”

India’s performance with the bat in the second Test against Bangladesh had evoked comparisons with England’s famed ‘Bazball’.

They won the two-Test series against Bangladesh 2-0, with the second Test win coming in just over two days’ play after most of first three days were affected by rain.

However, New Zealand have been a different competitor altogether. They beat India on Bengaluru’s pace friendly surface and Pune’s spin-friendly surface.

“I have always believed that as a team or as an individual there will always be sometime where your performance will take a dip when you are out of your comfort zone and sometimes the results will be against you. If you are patient enough, when your upward curve hits, then it will last very long.”

He said that he is hoping the team hits the upward curve soon.

“We are hoping that the transition we are having of mindset and approach, the dip that we are facing will end and once we start hitting upward curve, it will be a long curve.

“Losing or picking wickets in a bunch tends to happen. It is in the mindset. Intent is not about winning on every ball, it is about having intent to score a run at every ball which may not sometimes come off. Can’t overthink and overanalyse.”

Nayar also said that the team management is not going to interfere in the preparation of pitches. It should be recalled that the Ravi Shastri-Virat Kohli combination used to mostly prepare pitches suiting Indian spinners, especially as a desperate measure. Even the Rohit Sharma-Rahul Dravid duo was also reportedly guilty of interfering in pitch preparation in the final of the Cricket World Cup in 2023.

“We wish we could curate pitches but we don’t. The curators do. But whatever we are provided with, we will go and play [on]. Whether it is the pitch that seams or one that turns we will go and play with what we are provided. As cricketers we try and play with what we are provided with and don’t try for conditions that we want,” added Nayar.

Tags : India cricket team, New Zealand Cricket, Wankhede Stadium, Abhishek Nayar, 3rd Test, Rohit Sharma, WTC