Brendon McCullum might be up in opposition to his most formidable check but when England tour India for a five-Test collection in January. McCullum, since taking on as England coach in May of final yr, has tasted victories over New Zealand, within the rescheduled fifth Test in opposition to India from the 2021 collection, inflicted a clear sweep on Pakistan and drawn the Ashes. However, the prospect of defeating India in a Test collection on their residence soil guarantees to be the largest achievement of McCullum’s teaching tenure as no group has finished so in over a decade.
Brendon McCullum says that even when England do not succeed, the gamers will go down ‘taking part in the best way solely they know'(Reuters)
India and England have been in a back-and-forth battle for the No. 1-ranked Test facet on the earth. The Anthony de Mello trophy was up for grabs twice in 2021, with India beating England at residence within the first half of the years after which drawing the collection away within the second. Earlier this yr, Australia tried, however fell 1-2 quick. But barring Australia, if there’s one group than can publish a problem to India on their residence turf, it’s England, with the dynamic captain-coach duo of Ben Stokes and McCullum on the helm.
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“We have got a huge challenge against a very good Indian team in five Tests in India. I am excited about it because you want to test yourself against the best side and I genuinely believe that India is the best in their own condition. It is going to be a good challenge for us. If we have success then fabulous, if we don’t then I know we will go down in the style that we want to go down,” McCullum stated on the RCB Innovation Lab’s Leaders Meet India.
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The collection should still be nearly two months away however has already gained steam because of the reputation of England’s Bazball strategy, a time period that has made its solution to the dictionary. The Collins dictionary refers to Bazball as ‘a method of Test cricket wherein the batting facet performs in a extremely aggressive method’, however whether or not will probably be efficient in India, the place pitches aren’t precisely identified to be pace-friendly is the million-dollar query on everybody’s thoughts.
Last yr, forward of the Edgbaston Test in July, when India coach Rahul Dravid was requested about Bazball by one of many reporters, his reply was ‘do not actually know what’s that’. He discovered it the laborious means a couple of days later when England beat India by 7 wickets. Less than two years later, Dravid may have the chance to even the percentages. As for his counterpart, McCullum, he hinted that England will proceed taking part in a model of cricket solely they know the way to, indicating that Bazball will function on full throttle.
“We are playing the game, because we love cricket and we want to try and be as good at cricket as we possibly can. During the time that you are in the chair, you want to make sure you enjoy it and you shouldn’t wait till the end of your career to do so. We are very lucky that we have had some immediate success but I don’t think it is the ceiling for us. I think we have seen some guys who have unlocked their potential in the last 18 months or so and that’s what the job is as a leader; to get the most out of the people that you’re in charge of,” added the previous New Zealand captain.
Source: www.hindustantimes.com
