Dharamshala, Mar 6
It’s been close to three weeks but the Indian dressing room can’t forget what England opener Ben Duckett said about India’s latest batting sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal at the end of the third Test at Rajkot.
His comment, which later received wide-spread criticism from around the world, was about England’s Bazballers inspiring India’s 22-year-old find of the series to bat aggressively.
On the eve of the final Test, Indian captain Rohit Sharma was asked about Bazball and Duckett’s remark. He gave his trademark shrug, said he couldn’t understand if Bazball was about defending or attacking, but acknowledged that England had played better cricket than the last series. He later added what was sure to get him headlines. “There was this guy called Rishabh Pant, probably Duckett hasn’t seen him bat,” he said.
In the final forensic of the series that India have already pocketed, the Duckett loose talk would be Exhibit A which points to how England maybe got carried away with their Bazball and their mind games backfired. In contrast, this contest will be remembered for Rohit’s young team – without Virat Kohli and other seniors – not just outplaying England but also out-thinking them. For starters, they didn’t roll out the rank turners that Ben Stokes and his men had anticipated. And to Rohit’s credit, he managed the downfall of England batsmen on true pitches with meticulous planning. Since the start of the series, the constant chatter by the touring party about their brand of cricket had got on the nerves of Indians. Like the rest of the world, read Australians and others, India was united in bursting the Bazball bubble. The tipping point came when they started taking credit for the success of a natural stroke-maker like Jaiswal. For captain Rohit, Duckett’s comment had come at the right time. In case he feared that his bunch of exuberant, inexperienced youngsters would take their foot off the pedal after the record-breaking win at Rajkot and taking the 2-1 lead in the series he didn’t have to worry. Duckett had ensured that complacency stayed away from Rohit’s young team that had to dig deep to stay ahead in this series of fine margins.
India wasn’t a team that had already switched off and started visualising themselves in franchise jerseys for the IPL, Rohit’s boys were looking for a 4-1 finish to the series.
With rain and sunshine expected to take turns visiting the venue, the captain will have to again think on his feet.
He will have to pick the right playing XI and be on the ball as conditions might keep changing.
Those who have followed this series ball-by-ball vouch for Rohit’s unrelenting focus and his constant coaching and coaxing of his bowlers and fielders. They say this could easily be the most mentally draining series for the captain. Be it at the net session or on the field, he has been in constant conversation with his troops.
Things were difficult for the captain. He had to talk. The team management were of the view that a turning track would be counter-productive. The daredevil batting approach that Stokes and his boys trained for in UAE would work when the ball turned appreciably. But on slow and low pitches, they struggled. But that also meant, Indian spinners too had a tough time getting wickets. And that was the reason for Rohit’s constant chatting with bowlers, expressing frustration when they went for runs.
A couple of days before the Test, Rohit had gone for the inauguration of a Khel Mahotsav programme – mega sports festival for the region’s youth – at nearby Bilaspur, where he was asked about his constant chat on the field. Besides providing exciting cricket action, the series has thrown up viral content of Rohit’s candid comments recorded by the stump microphone.
“I stand in the slips as it is easier for me to control the game and talk to my players. Since I am close to the stumps, my comments are caught by the mic,” he said. The anchor pushing his luck, asked about his favourite stray comment that didn’t get relayed.
Rohit thought for a while and said with a sly smile, “I will repeat that during the Dharamsala game.” The crowd of children and their parents let out a roar.
Considering the limited international exposure of many players, Rohit can’t afford not to talk to his players. These are early days in their careers, this is the time habits are formed. The lessons learnt now will help them for a long time. But to some extent, the captain’s job has been made easier by the likes of Duckett and their Bazball utterances. Nothing fires a young team like the “Us vs Them” narrative.
Maybe, there are lessons for Ben Stokes too. A little bit of humility and toning down of swagger can help the team. They give the impression that they are on a higher plane providing entertainment to fans while others are in some rat race chasing the old and boring goals of winning. Entertainment can never be the tyranny for his team, nor the monopoly of just one cricketing nation.
