"It will be even more interesting when they come to India" - Aakash Chopra on England's 'Bazball' approach

Aakash Chopra believes the result of the ongoing Ashes and the away series against India could define the future of England's 'Bazball' approach.

England adopted an all-out aggressive approach to Test cricket when Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over as captain and head coach respectively. They have persisted with that approach in the ongoing first Test against Australia at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was asked to explain England's 'Bazball' approach and why they adopted the same, to which he responded:

"Brendon McCullum has said he doesn't agree with 'Bazball', that it's not a philosophy, but the philosophy has changed. England's playing style has changed. Thinking about a change is easy and it is easy to implement it as well at the start because you have the conviction."

The former Indian opener added:

"The question comes when you lose. Then you feel whether it is right or wrong. This entire Ashes will tell how far their philosophy goes and it will be even more interesting when they come to India, that whether they will be able to continue with this philosophy there."

England suffered a 3-1 reversal on their 2021 Test tour of India. It will be interesting to see if they stick to their attacking approach if they once again encounter rank turners on their next trip to India.

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"When you are at the lowest ebb, you can only go in one direction" - Aakash Chopra on England's changed approach

England failed to reach the knockout stages of the 2015 World Cup.

Aakash Chopra pointed out that England's dismal run at the 2015 World Cup forced them to alter their limited-overs approach:

"At times, when you are at the lowest ebb, you can only go in one direction. Then you say that you have tried everything, so can try this one as well. If you get success, that becomes your brand of cricket. I think that's what happened after the 2015 World Cup debacle."

The reputed commentator added that Eoin Morgan and Co. opted to adopt an aggressive brand of cricket at that stage:

"England said they will play a different style of ODI cricket and there will be a complete commitment to that, they will play the same way whether they win or lose, even if they get all out for 150."

Chopra concluded by observing that Stokes and McCullum extended the same exciting approach to the longest format:

"Then when Brendon McCullum became the coach and Ben Stokes became the captain, they said let's change Test cricket too as they weren't performing great in any case. So why can't they do in Tests what they were doing in ODIs and T20Is? These are exciting times and England cricket is super-super exciting."

England have won 11 of the 13 Tests they have played since Stokes took over as their full-time captain. However, all these games have either been played in familiar conditions in England and New Zealand or on flat tracks in Pakistan.