We have talked extensively about Bazball in recent times. England’s affection for going hard in Test cricket has been coined as Bazball and they have got notable success with that gentry of batting. But is it new in cricket? Has this not been seen before?
Well, talking about world cricket it is something different but Indian cricket certainly has seen Bazball before and it has come in various forms and shapes. As India gears up for the third Test in Rajkot, here are three players from the 90s and the early 2000s who have given us a glimpse of how Bazball looked like.
#1 Yuvraj Singh
Yuvi certainly knew no fear and he was not exercising caution at any cost. He was a hard-hitter of the ball and would destroy any opposition at any point in time. He would rock and roll the bowlers as if he never cared what was the format that he was playing in. His extensive power hitting helped India in all the formats. In Test cricket, he may not have been the same reckoning force that the world knew in the shorter format of the games, but he certainly was a terrorizer of the oppositions.
Question – when you hear ‘Bazball’, what comes your mind?
Virender Sehwag – Sehwag started that (smiles). pic.twitter.com/cMyMI3CZZw
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 14, 2024
#2 Virender Sehwag
Viru had so many titles for a reason and he was not taking a sidestep just because he would miss a century. He would walk out, smack four and sixes and leave the bowlers rattled. He was a man of calibre who would thump his chest for making the game interesting. Another impressive factor about him was his fearlessness. He was the one who revolutionized Indian opening in terms of aggression.
#3 Irfan Pathan
Making his debut in the early half of 2000, Irfan Pathan was more of an all-rounder. Even though his area of focus was extensively bowling but he batted well enough as well. Coming out to bat at number seven, Pathan would hit the accelerator straightaway and he would have no remorse whatsoever. He was a fine striker of the ball and despite being known only as a bowler in most of his career, Pathan had the guts to make life a Bazball in the early 2000s.
