sb.scorecardresearch

Published 09:56 IST, January 21st 2024

Sunil Gavaskar claims India's 'Viratball' ready to counter England's 'Bazball' in Hyderabad Test

Sunil Gavaskar introduces the "Viratball" tactic to counter England's "Bazball" strategy ahead of India vs England Test series opener in Hyderabad.

Reported by: Aryan Suraj Chadha
Follow: Google News Icon
  • share
Sunil Gavaskar, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli
Sunil Gavaskar looks on (left) and Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli interact ahead of a match | Image: PTI/AP

India's cricket squad will face England in a five-match Test series. The first test will be played on January 25, 2024. Rohit Sharma, who just returned to the T20I squad for the series against Afghanistan, hopes to lead his side to victory. India dominated, winning 3-0.

3 things you need to know 

  • Indian Cricket Team will now play England in a home series 
  • Team India will be led by Rohit Sharma 
  • The first Test will be played in Hyderabad 

Also Read: KS Bharat warms up for Test series with century

Sunil Gavaskar made a huge statement about Virat Kohli

In the forthcoming five-match Test series beginning on January 25, renowned Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar has invented the name 'Viratball' to refer to India's effort to counter England's 'Bazball' tactic. According to Gavaskar, India has created a special strategy known as "Viratball" to successfully counter England's strategies.

On January 25, the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad is set to host the first game of the series. India and England have not played a Test match since their five-match series tie, which ended in a 2-2 draw, in 2021/22. As both sides get ready to restart their rivalry in Test cricket, there is a lot of expectation.

Virat Kohli has been named to the 16-member team that will play England in the first two Tests of the forthcoming five-match series. The skilled batsman is on the verge of achieving a big milestone, as he is only 152 runs away from entering India's select club of hitters with over 9000 Test runs. Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rahul Dravid are now among the members of this restricted group.

Sunil Gavaskar, in an interview with Star Sports ahead of the first Test, emphasised India's use of the 'Viratball' tactic to counter England's 'Bazball' approach. Kohli's record versus England is remarkable, with 1991 runs in 28 Tests at an average of 42.36. As India prepares for the series, all eyes will be on Kohli's possible milestone and the team's tactical strategy against England. Gavaskar said: 

“Yeah, conversion means having more hundreds than fifties. With Kohli, he has as a similar amount of hundreds and fifties, that means he has a good conversion rate. The way he's been batting, his movement looks good. With the form that he's in, we have Viratball to counter Bazball,” 

“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,” 

Also Read: Avasthi grabs seven to put Mumbai on top vs Kerala

India's Test Squad For England series

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vc) and Avesh Khan.

Updated 09:56 IST, January 21st 2024