India vs Bangladesh: KL Rahul promises India's brand of 'Bazball' in the Test series

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Chattogram, December 12: The way England approaches Test cricket has infused a newfound interest in the format, and it has been dubbed as 'Bazball.’ KL Rahul, the India captain, said on Monday (December 12) his side too will play aggressive cricket without entirely mimicking Ben Stokes’ side.

“To watch, it is really really exciting. Watching these two Test matches against Pakistan. I’ve been watching the games and it’s really exciting. Really enjoying Test cricket being played like that. Very fearless, very aggressive. Taking the game on,” said Rahul in a press conference ahead of India’s first Test against Bangladesh on Wednesday (December 14).

Rahul said England’s brand of cricket is not reckless. “It’s how you view it. For me as a cricketer, it’s not reckless. They have a certain mindset and they’ve thought about it. Their players are doing the job for their team. When you’re doing that it doesn’t really matter how you’ve done it.”

“That’s worked for them. Each team has their own way. Obviously all teams can learn a thing or two from teams that are doing well and how they’ve really performed.

It’s not always going to be the same approach. You turn up and play according to the conditions and where you are. One thing is sure, you’ll see aggressive cricket from our side.”

Rahul said that India would miss its regular captain Rohit Sharma and they are hoping that he recovers quickly and come back for the second Test.

India skipper Rohit Sharma missed the third and final ODI against Bangladesh with a finger injury sustained in the second match.

After a special consultation in Mumbai, it has been decided appropriate management of the injury is necessarily forcing him out of the first Test against Bangladesh, which begins on 14 December.

Rahul will lead the squad in his absence while uncapped batter Abhimanyu Easwaran will replace him in the squad. 27-year-old Easwaran has played 78 firstclass matches so far, scoring 5576 runs at 45.33.

"Rohit Sharma is a very important player for us and an experienced player and captain of our team so we will miss him. India will miss Rohit Sharma as a captain and batsman, we are hoping that he can recover quickly and will be back for the 2nd Test," said Rahul.

The record-breaker Virat Kohli had a memorable day at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, as he brought up his first ODI century since August 2019, his 44th in the 50- over format.

Kohli also surpassed Australian legend Ricky Ponting to become the player with the second-highest number of international cricket centuries.

He surpassed Ponting, who had 71 international cricket tons, to become the second-highest century scorer in the sport with a total of 72.

“Virat Kohli's hundred against Bangladesh will give him confidence in the Test match. He has been around for so long he is such an experienced player," he added.

The BCCI selection committee has come under fire for choosing Cheteshwar Pujara over Rishabh Pant to serve as vice-captain for the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh after KL Rahul was named skipper in place of the injured Rohit Sharma, who will miss the opening game in Chattogram.

Rahul spoke up about the "criteria" for selecting the vice-captain, explaining why Pujara was chosen over Pant.

Prior to admitting that he, too, is unaware of the procedure for choosing the vice-captain, Rahul underlined that such decisions do not diminish the duty a player has in the squad.

“I at least don't know what the criteria is, whoever is picked you give yourself a pat on your back. Even for me, when I was named the vice-captain, you get happy, you have the responsibility of the team.

It really doesn't change much, everybody knows their role and responsibility and how much the team appreciates their contribution. Rishabh and Puji both have been brilliant for us, and have done the job so many times.

“Itna jada sochte nahin hai jo hai (We don't really think that much), he tries to take responsibility. We carry on as a team,” he said.

Talking about playing Test cricket after a long time, Rahul said, “You have to try to go back to your basics. I think for us as a team we played a lot of Test matches and it's only about reminding ourselves and each other what worked for us in the past and trying to repeat that.

“Each time we played in different formats it was a challenge the mind space of each individual player is quite different and it is important to back the players and let them make their own decisions.

“We know that every player will turn up each day when they play for their country. It's really important for us to enjoy our cricket and not really think too much.

“It's about we are playing this format what is it that we required to do as a team and what we need to do as individuals to win the game for your team and your country.

“You cant always have the same approach. It totally depends on the conditions where you are. There is a World Test Championship qualification for us so we will have to be aggressive to know where we stand. Its Test cricket so each day we will assess in each session what is required for the team at that particular moment,” he added.