That's not really in our DNA at the moment: Dinesh Karthik on India playing 'Bazball' cricket

Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik feels that Team India need not necessarily adopt the 'Bazball' style of ultra-attacking cricket that England play in Tests straightaway because it's not exactly how the side play their cricket.

Ever since India's stand-in skipper KL Rahul stated in the press conference that India will play aggressive cricket, there was a lot of talk about whether the visitors would adopt the 'Bazball' approach.

However, while speaking to Cricbuzz after the end of play on Day 1, Dinesh Karthik explained exactly what KL Rahul meant when he said the word 'aggressive'. He said:

"These are the kind of wickets that end up not producing a result. I feel like we can't play Bazball cricket right now because that's not really in our DNA at the moment.

"However, when Rahul spoke about playing aggressive cricket, he probably meant that he wanted to make a match out of it and push for a result with the World Test Championship around the corner. They couldn't do it today because the wicket is slow."

Dinesh Karthik also spoke about the need for more players like Rishabh Pant to score at a quick pace if India are to really adopt the 'Bazball' style in the future. He added:

"If you really want to bat at a run rate of 4-4.5 runs an over, you need players that score at that tempo. For example, Rishabh Pant, the way he batted for his 46, it's something that comes very naturally to him. We need to change our mindset and the way we bat if we need to get there (playing Bazball)."

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Dinesh Karthik on whether India have players to adopt 'Bazball'

Karthik opined that Team India certainly don't have a scarcity of players who can play at a high tempo. He shed light on how five among India's top six in the first Test play all three formats and feels it is just about making the mental adjustment to be ready to take that extra risk.

On this, Dinesh Karthik stated:

"I don't think personnel is a problem (for playing like BazBall). Five of our top six batters play all three formats. So maintaining a strike rate of 80-85 in Tests shouldn't be difficult for them.

"It is all about that mindset shift. Even if you make a mistake, you need to make sure that you rectify it and also continue to bat at that particular tempo."

With honors even on Day 1, both teams will be keen to take the initiative and win the crucial first session on Day 2.