NEW DELHI: Former England captain Michael VaughanIndia’s remark on the game”Baseball‘ during the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur drew criticism and trolling on social media.
Vaughan sparked controversy online when he commented on India’s aggressive batting in the second Test against Bangladesh, remarking: “I see India playing Baseball”.
Vaughan’s comment, posted on X (formerly Twitter), mentioned England’s ultra-aggressive approach under coach Brendon McCullumcalled “Bazball”.
However, his remark backfired and he quickly found himself trolled by Indian fans who claimed that India’s approach was more inspired than their own stars.
Vaughan made the comment after witnessing India’s aggressive batting approach on day four of the rain-affected match on Monday.
India bowled out Bangladesh for 233 in their first innings before racing to 138/2 in just 16 overs, displaying a T20-style batting approach.
They reached 50 runs in three overs and 100 in 10.1 overs, both the fastest of any team in Test cricket. The team, with its extraordinary acumen, became the fastest to reach 200 and 250 runs.
This aggressive strategy was intended to force a result after more than two days of play were lost due to bad weather.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal led Team India with a scintillating 72 off 51 balls before being dismissed before the tea break. Virat Kohli (47) and KL Rahul (68) anchored the innings, taking India’s total to 285/9 declared.
While Vaughan Bazball’s comment may have been intended as a compliment, Indian fans were quick to remind him that their nation has a long history of aggressive batting, citing Sehwag and Pant as pioneers of the style Vaughan seemed to attribute to England.
One fan wrote to X, “BazBall is a copycat product of ViruBall and PantBall which was destroyed and completed by JaisBall in January 2024.”
Another joked: “Yeah but the version where the team playing BazBall wins”
