I never aspired to be a leader: Ben Stokes

In an exclusive interview titled ‘Inside-Out with Ben Stokes’ on JioCinema, recorded just before the 1^st Test in Hyderabad, the England skipper spoke candidly about Bazball, Leadership, Test cricket, and his relationship with Brendon McCullum, Stephen Fleming and MS Dhoni.

On Bazball

It’s a phrase that was created by the media. Something that we try and stay away from. It just came from what we have managed to do over the last two years and how we’ve played. We don’t necessarily like it, Baz hates it! Whenever that word pops up, we just try to say that’s how England plays Test cricket.

On whether he ever saw himself as a leader

It’s something I never had any aspirations to do or really thought about too much, to be honest. I never really had too much responsibility around captaining or anything, either in age-group cricket or any other level. I had a little taste of it with the Durham Academy.

This opportunity presented itself to me and it was something I couldn’t turn down. It’s a role I’ve grown into, it’s a role that I’ve really enjoyed. I love everything that comes with it, the responsibility of looking after people from different types of angles. Whether it be out in the field or away from the field. Understanding different individuals and personalities, because in a team sport, you’ve got a lot of people and not everyone is the same. That’s helped me mature as a person. Just really enjoying the responsibility of driving something forward.

On ways to improve Test cricket

I’m from that mould of cricketers who have fortunately been able to go through the transition of where cricket is. Test cricket, in particular, is where it’s all up for me. It’s my favourite format. Part of that is because of how much hard work you have to put into it to come out a winner.

When Test matches go five days and you’re sitting in the changing room after winning that game, there’s nothing more satisfying than looking back on the five days and how much hard work you’ve had to put in to get that moment. That’s no disrespect to the other formats, but five days of hard work, the stuff you put your body through, and what the other guys in the field put their bodies through to hopefully make the team come out on the winning side is something the other formats don’t give you. Test cricket for me, is the pinnacle of cricket, regardless of where cricket has transitioned to.

On winning the last IPL as a part of Chennai Super Kings and the similarities between his relationship with Brendon McCullum and the one between Stephen Fleming and MS Dhoni

You say we ended up winning, that’s how I got the TFC Award, the ‘Thanks For Coming’ award. Obviously, it didn’t quite go how I wanted it to with the injury and stuff like that. But just being part of an unbelievable franchise like Chennai. I’ve worked with Fleming and MS before when I was playing in Pune. I think how MS and Fleming complemented each other was something to behold.

The trust that they have in the decisions they make, one as a coach and one as a captain. MS has the emotion of being out in the game, whereas sometimes when you’re sitting on the sideline, you don’t have that emotion. I think they both have an incredible understanding of that. But one thing me and Baz always try to do, and what MS and Flem do is whatever decision they make around selection or whatever decision they have to make very quickly, it’s always based around what’s best for the team. That's something me and Baz always try and live by when we make decisions."

On his approach behind selecting spinners

I think sometimes inexperience can be looked at into a bit too much. There’s no doubt that experience makes players feel more comfortable and settled, especially in this environment. But the spinners we’ve selected on this tour are ones we think will give us the best opportunity to beat India.

For me, it’s not just about the spinners but understanding the talent they have and allowing them to go out there and express that talent and giving them the platform and the best possible opportunity to not worry about the outcome too much and focus on what cricket actually is. As a bowler, your job is to think about taking wickets. As a batsman, it's about going out there and scoring runs. Anything more than that is overcomplicating it. I’m just taking away that fear and anxiety around the outcome.

On the challenge of beating India in India

India is a hard place to come and win a game, never mind a five-match series. It’s been a mission for any team who’ve come here to turn over India. We understand that and respect that. But again, it comes down to opportunity. We’ve got an amazing opportunity ahead of us. The squad we’ve picked from spinners to our seam bowlers to our batters, I think it’s going to give us the best opportunity to win a series in India.