Bazball or whatever you call it, Test matches are about playing according to situations: Anil Kumble |

NEW DELHI: Former India captain and ex-head coach Anil Kumble has urged England captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum to engage in introspection after their team’s series loss against India. Kumble emphasised that Test cricket demands adaptability to different situations.
India secured a five-wicket victory over England in Ranchi, seizing an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the 5-Test series, marking their 17th consecutive Test series win at home, a record unmatched by any other country.
This defeat marks England’s first Test series loss since Brendon McCullum assumed the head coaching role.

Addressing whether McCullum’s approach was ineffective in the series, Kumble noted the formidable challenge of playing and winning in India, emphasizing that success in such conditions was always going to be arduous.

“The challenge when England came here was obvious. Bazball or whatever ball you want to call it, playing in India and beating India here was never going to be easy. India have never lost a series at home in the last decade. They (England) knew that they had to be different but their bowling attack wasn’t something that they believed would be able to penetrate India’s batting line-up,” Kumble said on Jio Cinema.
“England’s senior batters including Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root, other than the Ranchi Test, didn’t contribute consistently. There were some key moments that they grabbed on a couple of occasions but other key moments they let go. It’s all nice to say that ‘this is the way I bat’, but you can’t bat like that all the time. You have to hold back.

“In Test match cricket, that’s what it is. It’s about situations and that’s what Root did in this (Ranchi) match. No wonder he was successful, something that England will have to discuss and look at,” he added.
The former coach also shared his views on the pitch in Ranchi while adding that pitch conditions, DRS calls after affecting team’s mindset that ultimate give advantage to the opposition.
“The pitch certainly got slower. But the moment you start thinking about the pitch, about conditions, about DRS or things that are not in your control, it certainly starts affecting your mindsets and that’s something the opposition will pick on,” said Kumble.
(With inputs from IANS)