England will be very confident of Bazball but they need a backup plan: Pragyan Ojha

Former cricketer Pragyan Ojha believes that England will back their Bazball formula in the upcoming five-match Test series against India, which is slated to begin on January 25. Under the leadership of Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, the Three Lions have been extremely successful by playing an attacking brand of cricket. Still, many former cricketers have cast doubt over its success in the spin-friendly conditions in India.

Speaking about the same, Ojha mentioned that the visitors will have to keep a backup plan ready. He added that the conditions will not be like what was in Pakistan, where England won 3-0. He reminded that the spinners will get a lot of advantage from the surface, which can create some problems for the Ben Stokes-led side. He also added that playing an aggressive brand of cricket against Indian pacers will not be an easy task as well.

“I feel England will be very confident with the strategy they have adopted. But they need a backup plan because the conditions won't be like what they were in Pakistan. The wickets were slightly better and favoured the batsmen. Here, the conditions will favour the spinners. So how they tackle this will be very important," Ojha said while speaking to JioCinema.

“Bazball involves playing fearless cricket and England tries to gain a psychological edge using this strategy. Executing Bazball will be difficult in India because it won't be easy to play the Indian spinners or for that matter Jasprit Bumrah and the other pace bowlers,” he further added.

England are preparing for upcoming Test series against India in the UAE

Meanwhile, England have set up a preparatory camp in the United Arab Emirates to deal with spinners in the upcoming Test series. They have faced a lot of flak for doing so as a few former cricketers advised them to travel to India for better practice sessions. However, the team management didn’t pay heed to it.

Notably, the Three Lions are expected to reach India on January 22 (Monday) and might have two practice sessions in the sub-continent before they take the field for the first Test in Hyderabad.