MS Dhoni's CSK used Bazball technique in IPL 2023: Did AB de Villiers' send a veiled message to Team India?

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Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has praised England's 'Bazball' method and said that it was just the team's mentality to be on the top of the opposition and a strong intent to put themselves in a winning position.

Despite knowing that there are chances of rain on Day 3, England scored quick runs and took the brave call of declaring their first innings at 393/8. De Villiers, who has retired from all forms of cricket, pointed that it was England's intention to go for the win.

Notably, things panned out in favour of England and by the end of Day 4 they were favourites to win the match. Australia were reduced to 227/8 on the final day and England could smell the victory but unfortunately, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon partnered for stunning 53 runs to help the visitors clinch a famous 2-wicket victory.

"I never looked at the Birmingham weather leading up to this Test match. The way England played now makes sense. Call it what you want, some say Bazz Ball, I just think it’s smart Cricket. The best teams are prepared to adapt and play situations in a way that’ll ultimately put them in a winning position more often than the rest, whether that’s by making bold declarations or playing reverse sweeps a lot, whatever it takes," de Villiers tweeted.

Bazball akin to MS Dhoni's tactics for CSK

Further, the former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star claimed that MS Dhoni and his team also took the field in IPL 2023 with a mentality similar to that of England players under the 'Bazball' method. He said winning was the primary goal of the team and individual traits and personal records were sidelined.

Joe Root, who is known for his textbook cricketing shots, played a few reverse sweeps and reverse scoops during his 118-run knock off 152 balls in the second innings. The England batters kept on scoring aggressively till the end despite the threat of losing wickets.

Nearly the same was the approach followed by CSK. The likes of Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad gave blistering starts to the team. Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube and Ambati Rayudu attacked from the ball.

Someone of Ravindra Jadeja's stature was used at the back end despite people questioning the tactic. MS Dhoni himself went berserk every time he walked in the end overs. The players were backed and they did their job. There were no signs of panic in the CSK camp despite multiple injuries of star players.

"The only way to make it impactful is to have a complete buy in from every individual, no ego’s, no stats driven players, just a full on buy in to be the best team in the world. That’s how I see the Eng team play atm. Also saw that with MSD and co. in the IPL Gonna be a fascinating final day. Let’s get it going. Aus still in with a chance here, unlikely, but possible."

Did ABD send a veiled message to Team India?

The Indian Test team under Rohit Sharma recently lost the WTC final against Australia by 209. Their defensive mindset was questioned. Sourav Ganguly also asked about India's decision to bowl first after winning the toss. Going with four pacers because of the pressure of playing in England and dropping Ravichandran Ashwin also became a topic of debate.

AB de Villiers talked about shedding ego and not being driven by stats. Did he send a veiled message to Indian team management and the selectors to come with a fresh approach.

There have been reports of ego clashes between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the past. Someone like Cheteshwar Pujara has been backed for a while because of solid numbers in the past. Same was the case with Ajinkya Rahane before he was dropped for more than a year.

India also did not include an attacking player in Ishan Kishan for the WTC final and KS Bharat, who carries the image of a traditional red-ball player, was preferred. De Villiers’ message could be a hint for India to change their approach and go for the kill.