Ian Chappell urges Joe Root to drop Bazball philosophy

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell has asked Joe Root to abandon the much-hyped Bazball batting technique, saying his excellent record came while playing in the normal way as well.

However, Joe Root was dismissed while playing a reverse scoop off Jasprit Bumrah in the first innings of the Rajkot Test, which also saw a collapse in the England camp in the recently concluded third Test against India. With England comfortably placed at 224 for 2, Root’s dismissal saw them reduced soon, being bowled out for 319 and giving India a first-innings lead of 126 runs as well.

Joe Root struggled against India

Speaking to World Wide Sports, Chappell said, “Root had a bloody fine record playing normally, and he was a quick scorer playing normally. I don’t see why he’s trying to change things drastically, and I’ve never believed you should play premeditated shots.”

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Meanwhile, Root has averaged above 50, a bit higher than his overall average of 49.32 as well, since Brendon McCullum took over as head coach in mid-2022 and England started playing aggressively with the Bazball technique which is attacking batting. However, Joe Root has struggled significantly in the ongoing series against India, scoring only 77 runs at an average of less than 13 in six innings so far as well.

Ian Chappel urged Joe Root to play in the normal way

“You can’t always do it – it’s got to be according to the conditions and also who’s bowling. Some bowlers you can score off a lot quicker than others, but when a really good bowler is bowling a good spell, you’ve got to be prepared to try and battle it out and think to yourself ‘Well, when he goes off, it’ll get a bit easier. You’re always trying to score runs – that’s got to be your prime aim. But, you’ve also got to realize some conditions, against some bowlers you can score quicker than others,” Ian Chappell concluded.