'They Knew They Had to be Different But...': Anil Kumble Points Out England's Biggest Drawback After Their Series Loss to India

Former Indian cricketer, Anil Kumble delivered a reality check to the England camp after their series loss to India in their ongoing Test tour.

Speaking to JioCinema, the legendary spinner saw the bowling attack of the touring side as a weak point. Speaking in the interview, Anil Kumble talked about how England knew from the get-go that they would have to be different when facing India. However, as per the ex-cricketer, England lacked on the bowling front as they failed to trouble India during their batting. Kumble said, “They knew they had to be different but their bowling attack wasn’t certainly something that they believed would be able to penetrate the Indian batting.”

He said, “See the challenge when England came here was obvious. India is not going to be easy. Bazball or whatever ball you call it…but it’s not going to be easy beating India at home. That is the reason why India has been so dominant over the years.”

With more than 619 Test wickets to his name, Kumble certainly knows a thing or two about performing on away soil in Test cricket. Hence, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see the former India cricketer unhinged with England’s Bazball threat. He was quite confident about India’s performances at home and his young compatriots have certainly lived up to it.

Anil Kumble isn’t the only Indian cricketer who has aimed a slight dig towards England’s cricketing approach in the Test format. Batting icon Virender Sehwag sent out a post on X that read, “Keep entertaining, England. India, Australia and New Zealand can do the boring job of winning”. Through his post, Sehwag reckoned that while England’s combative cricketing style has indeed entertained fans, it is yet to produce consistent results.

The word Bazball is not an official cricket term and has been derived from current England coach Brendon McCullum’s nickname ‘Baz’. It refers to an aggressive style of batting that has helped England achieve some success in Test cricket. Since the duo of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took charge in 2022, England remained unbeaten in all the Test series they had played. Their loss against India is their first in the ongoing McCullum era.

As of the ongoing India versus England series, the visitors had found early success in the series, taking down the hosts in Hyderabad to go up 1-0. However, India was able to stitch together the perfect comeback by winning their next two Tests before winning their third in Ranchi. The Rohit-led side beat England 3-1 to bag the series. The two cricketing giants will now compete for one last time as they face off at Dharamshala on March 7.