"If England continue to play Bazball despite the two losses, they have my respect" - Ravichandran Ashwin

Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed England to continue with their Bazball ideology despite being 0-2 down in the ongoing Ashes 2023. The hosts lost the Lord's Test by 43 runs and since then, there has been a lot of scrutiny from cricket experts and media about their brand of ultra-aggressive cricket.

While England batters did play a few reckless shots and lost control of the Lord's Test, Ashwin believes it is the brand of cricket that gave them success and that they should stick to it.

In a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Ravichandran Ashwin had to say about England and Bazball:

"If they continue to play Bazball despite the two losses, they have my respect. See this is the cricket they have played and there will be some wins and some losses. As the saying goes, 'He who wins by the sword, does by the sword.' If they continue their approach then it will be an incredible balance and they have my backing."

Ashwin further spoke about how the hosts can continue to play their aggressive brand of cricket but also add a tinge of game awareness to it. He explained:

"England can continue to play Bazball, but instead of trying to score at 5.5-6 runs per over, they can look to score at 3.5-4 runs per over. Scoring at 4 runs per over is still Bazball."

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Australia have the arsenal to counter Bazball: Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin feels that while England shouldn't leave their style of aggressive batting, Australia just have the answers to everything that the hosts have thrown at them. He also explained why Bazball came off well against other oppositions and why the Aussies have something different to them.

On this, Ashwin stated:

"The problem with England is that Australia have the arsenal to counter them. Pakistan played two debutant spinners and their fast bowlers didn't have any bounce to work with, so it (Bazball) came off.

"Against Ireland it came off. For that matter, against New Zealand too, it came off. These teams didn't have express pace bowlers and a quality spinner but Australia have all bases covered."

The third Test of what is turning out to be a riveting Ashes is set to be played at Headingley, Leeds, from Thursday, July 6.