‘Bazball' is an old concept, England are just packaging it better: Deep Dasgupta

Deep Dasgupta is now an established voice in Indian cricket, across languages and media.  The former Test wicketkeeper-batsman — he played eight matches — is an analyst with the prestigious BBC commentary team in England. Moneycontrol caught up with Dasgupta for a quick chat after the Edgbaston Test, which India unexpectedly lost from a commanding position to an English team that came back strongly to chase down 378 over the last two days. Edited excerpts:

You are the only Indian commentator in the BBC radio team in England. What kind of queries have you been getting?

There are always questions about the young players, but of late it’s mostly been about ‘Bazball’. (Bazball is being seen as the philosophy of England’s new coach Brendon McCullum, nickname Baz, who was known for his aggressive and bold approach as a player, regardless of the state of the game). There has been a lot of chat around Bazball.

Is Bazball really a new concept in cricket? Or even in Test cricket? You have seen the likes of Virender Sehwag — and now Rishabh Pant — always play with an ultra-aggressive mindset, going after even the first ball — even in the red ball format.

It’s nothing new. As you just mentioned, it’s an old thing. However, England are packaging this concept better. It’s old wine in a new bottle and that is the case with this Bazball theory. There have been many players in the past like Sehwag, Pant or Sachin Tendulkar. Even in this current Indian team, the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma always go for their shots.  Yes, you can say that the current England side plays with a more positive approach. Earlier there used to be just one or two players or individuals in a team playing this way and hence such a bold approach was not seen as the collective intent of the team. But it is still early days and not all players, even in the English team, can play in that kind of fearless way all the time.

Jonny Bairstow has credited the IPL for his radical approach to batting, which was instrumental in England winning the Edgbaston Test. In that sense, it is a great irony that the IPL has been helping Test cricket become more relevant to younger audiences. But do you think the IPL has changed Test batting?

The problem with this generation of players is that they have to always find a way to bat differently in three formats of the game and that is not easy. And that is why they are adopting different batting methods. They are trying to minimise the gap between red ball and white ball cricket. The intent is to bridge the gap so that they don’t have to change much in different formats. On Tuesday, you were playing a Test and on Thursday you are playing a T20I! During such times, if you can  bring in some sort of uniformity in the game, so that players don’t have to make too many adjustments, then it's good for the game. Let's accept that the future is T20 and because of that Test match cricket has become more exciting.

In hindsight, can you say that Jasprit Bumrah’s inexperience as Test captain was also a big factor in India’s loss to England ?

I wouldn’t say so. If it was about a small phase like one particular over going horribly bad or one spell or one session then I could have understood that argument. But whatever happened, it was over five days and particularly the last two days (when India lost the plot). And, there were the likes of Virat and other senior players in the team (to advise and guide Bumrah).

But don’t you think that there was some sort of confusion in India’s overall approach?

See, the captain of the ship can’t be changed so frequently. If the captain keeps changing then it will affect (the thought process of) the team, because every captain has a different style and players will take time to adjust to the demands and new style of the captains. (In such a situation) A little confusion is inevitable. If Rohit were playing in the last Test, he would have made a difference as a batsman and as captain.  A captain like Bumrah, who is there just for a match, will also wonder: ‘How should I captain: The Virat way or the Rohit way or my own way?’

This was considered to be the best Indian bowling attack of all time and once again they didn’t deliver at a critical moment. No Indian bowling attack has ever failed to defend a 350-plus total, at home or abroad. There is a critical view that when it matters most, this attack fails to show up, as happened in South Africa or in the WTC final or here…

No, I think that is not only an unfair view but also a very harsh one. Because every game matters. The WTC failure? Fair enough but this Test was as crucial as other matches of the series (which was played in 2021; the final test was deferred because of Covid). The best bowling attack part, I completely agree with. They don’t show up? If that was the case, they wouldn’t have had a 2-1 lead.

India has been patient with Virat Kohli. Is he the proverbial elephant in the room now? 

I am a big fan of Virat. See, there are days in cricket when you are not batting well and yet get a hundred and there are days when you are batting well and can’t get a big innings. Personally, I think he has been batting well despite not scoring big runs. It’s just a matter of time before a big innings comes.

Finally, has the defeat sunk in? 

I was getting ready for it after the fourth day’s play got over. It was 80-20 in England’s favour and maybe a little more because of the way England team has been chasing of late. The tables were turned completely in the last two days and it will take a while to sink in. In many ways, it is a little bit of a bitter-sweet pill because the Edgbaston game was a great Test match and so was this series. Obviously, we forget what happened in those four matches earlier in 2021 (by focusing on the loss in the final Test).