“If you drive in Bengaluru traffic, you can’t always be in the fourth gear” Ashwin Rips Into England’s Mindless Batting In The Ongoing T20I Series Against India

Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has once again questioned England’s aggressive approach in the ongoing five-match T20I series against India. Ashwin who has been quite vocal about England’s approach in the couple of T20I matches played in the series so far does not mimic his words while criticizing England’s batting in the second T20I in Chennai. 

Expert’s Corner

“England has played incomplete cricket. They made a series of mistakes. When you play in India, you can’t play in one tempo. If you drive in Bengaluru traffic, you can’t always be in the fourth gear. It’s the same logic here. Sometimes, you can’t even go to the fourth gear in Bengaluru (laughs),” Ravichandran said on his YouTube channel.

The Approach

Apart from England’s captain Jos Buttler, no other batter has looked comfortable against the Indian spinners. One of the reasons for England’s struggle in the batting department has been their lack of application with the majority of the batters looking to take the aggressive root from ball one which has resulted in the downfall of a promising batting lineup. If we talk about batters like Harry Brook who has made a name for himself in the longest format of the game and experienced batter Liam Livingstone who is a crucial part of England’s middle order have failed to deliver in the couple of matches so far having been foxed by the Indian spinners.

The Mindset

One of the major talking points about India’s T20 setup since the T20 World Cup has been the fearless approach of the batters which was evident in the first couple of matches with the Indian batters going after the English bowlers who were bowling at almost 150 KPH.  Ashwin also praised India’s fearless approach but was of the opinion that one should play according to the condition after the powerplay. 

The Praise

“I had said this last time as well. The fearless, daredevil approach of Team India is good. Of course, you should have that fearless approach in the powerplay. However, you need to respect the conditions as well. Not all conditions will suit aggressive batting. In cricket, it is said that conditions are the king,” he added.