"It did put me under pressure" - Rohit Sharma opens up on England's Bazball approach in recent Test series

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma admitted that England's 'Bazball' approach did put him under some pressure during the home five-match Test series that ended in the second week of March.

While the hosts eventually came out on top by a comfortable 4-1 margin, England's attacking batting had India in trouble several times during the series. Coming into the five-match affair, the visitors had been unbeaten in a Test series since Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes took over as coach and captain in mid-2022.

Speaking to Michael Vaughan and Adam Gilchrist on the Club Prairie Fire Podcast, Rohit felt England's attacking style of batting was rarely seen on Indian soil.

"I’ve seen only a few players who have come and done that in India. Gilly (Gilchrist), Hayden in 2000 and then Kevin Pietersen in 2012. Not that people have not got 100s but the way they got that is what sometimes puts the captains under pressure. So, It ( Bazball) did put me under pressure a little bit, I won’t deny, but it was good to come out on top at the end of the Test series," said Rohit.

England won the opening Test despite a first-innings deficit of 190 runs before India fought back to assert their home dominance with four consecutive victories.

Rohit himself enjoyed a fine series with the bat, scoring 400 runs at an average of 44.44, including two centuries.

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"It’s not about how they play but more about how they talk off the field" - Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma felt Bazball had less to do with on-field performance and more with how the England players spoke off the field to release pressure off the individuals.

After a tumultuous period in Tests, England enjoyed a stunning turnaround since the inception of the Bazball under Stokes and McCullum, winning 13 out of 18 games before the India series.

"I think it’s not about how they play but more about how they talk off the field, just to take that pressure off from each individual. But there was no smashing, it was reasonably played like Test cricket for most times in the series. But, yes, there were a couple of guys who did put us under pressure which was quite good to see," said Rohit.

However, the series defeat in India meant England slipped to 10th on the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) table.

On the other hand, India leapfrogged Australia to the top of the table, attempting to qualify for a third final in a row.