New Delhi: Recent times in cricket have seen widely famous “Bazball” approach taking over the teams as the specifically the Test matches have become more result-oriented rather than ending in a draw. In the past, a draw used to be the most common result of all the Test matches happening around the globe as teams used to play safe in order to save wickets and not to give up the game too quick.
Former India skipper MS Dhoni, who played 90 Test matches for India, recently shared his views on the newer approach which is more about attacking the opposition with fearless batting and bowling. Dhoni isn’t very much social about his personal and after-retirement life and therefore, was late in making any comment in “Bazball”. Dhoni captained the India Test side from 2008 to 2014 – a period when safe cricket was pursued and not many results were delivered.
However Dhoni was all in for Bazball saying that he is loving how teams are playing Test cricket now. At a promotional event held in Goa a couple of days ago, Dhoni praised the result-oriented approach, referred to as “Bazball”, that the teams are adopting in Tests nowadays.
“You can give cricket any term that you want to, what we have seen is cricket has evolved. The way people are playing cricket is very different. There was a time when in ODIs something was considered a safe score, now that score is not safe in T20s too,” Dhoni said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. Talking about coining the term, he said that the word becomes interesting when there are widespread talks about it as people relate to it but it is merely a way to play cricket at the end of the day.
Dhoni on Test draws
Dhoni also reflected on the challenges of playing on the final day of a Test match when it mostly appeared headed for a draw. “For me, the most difficult time during a Test match was the fifth day of a match which is the last day when you knew that 100% it is going to be a draw,” he said.
“I would still need to keep for nearly 2.5 sessions and that was the most tiring part. You see there is no result happening, you are just going through the motions. Yes, bowlers would like to take wickets, and batters will try to score runs, (but) there is no result in the game.
“You think let’s finish this and go, why do I have to be here. So I love the fact there’s change in the way teams are playing Test cricket,” Dhoni asserted as he is not a fan of draws. He further emphasised on the importance of getting a result after sweating it out for five days. Playing for seven hours a day and the play sometimes gets extended to half an hour and on the fifth day, the team doesn’t get a result – Dhoni didn’t find it too cool.
“That’s not nice for the game. So I love how there’s more results in today’s world,” he said. According to him, the beauty of Test cricket lies in getting a result even after one of the days get washed out, as seen in recent times.
