Forget Bazball, Ashwin hints at 'Gamball'

Is it officially time to move on from England's Bazball? India have given enough reasons to do so.

The Rohit Sharma-led side broke the record for the fastest 50, 100 and 200 in their first innings in the second Test against Bangladesh at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur in order to achieve a result in the remaining two days of the match after only 35 overs of play was possible in the first three days due to rain and a wet outfield. After bowling Bangladesh out for 233 in the first innings, India smashed 285/9 in just 34.4 overs as all of their batters went all guns blazing in a never-before-seen assault on the Bangladesh bowlers.

The attack paid rich dividends, as India made Bangladesh bat on Day 4 and took two crucial wickets before stumps. On Day 5, India took the remaining 8 Bangladeshi wickets to bowl them out for 146 and then knocked off the 95-run target in 17.2 overs to win the match by seven wickets and take the series 2-0.

Ravichandran Ashwin, who was declared the Player of the Series for a record-equalling 11th time in Test cricket, said that he has seen people talk about 'Gamball', referring to India's attacking style of batting under new coach Gautam Gambhir. "I was seeing some posts about 'Gamball'--someone had shared something about it, which was interesting," Ashwin told Jio Cinema

Gambhir replaced Rahul Dravid as India's head coach after India's T20 World Cup triumph. Ashwin said there was not much of a difference between Dravid and Gambhir's styles as both wanted to win.

"The coaches are here for the welfare of the team, and I don't see huge differences in how they approach the game or the passion they have for Indian cricket. Their passion is at the highest level. I mean, they bring an incredible amount of love to that dressing room," Ashwin said.

Ashwin has had the opportunity to play under the wing of both stars. He pointed out that there isn't a huge gap between Gambhir and Dravid's approach or the passion that the duo shares for Indian cricket.

"I feel a bit sheepish saying this, but I played with Gauti Bhai and Rahul Bhai, and they've been my coaches in that dressing room. Their passion for Indian cricket is palpable, and it's amazing to witness. To have them pass on their knowledge, it's like having two cricketing geeks to talk cricket with, and I couldn't be happier or more at ease," he added.

India under Gambhir

The new era of Indian cricket has begun with a mixed bag of results. In his first T20I assignment, India won the T20I series against Sri Lanka.

Days after securing the series, India unprecedentedly lost the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. However, India bounced back in the Test format to complete the series sweep over Bangladesh.

After India extended its lead at the top of the World Test Championship standings, their focus will now shift to T20I format for the three-match series against Bangladesh. India's focus will then move to Test cricket for the three-match series against New Zealand.