I don’t know what buzzball means: Rohit Sharma

Dharamshala: Indian captain Rohit Sharma admitted that he is still surprised by the term “buzzball” despite praising England’s courageous approach and aggressive mindset of the game ahead of the fifth and final Test match starting on Thursday at the HPCA.

Ever since Brendon McCullum took over as England head coach and Ben Stokes took over the captaincy, their unorthodox approach to Test cricket, dubbed “buzzball”, has attracted attention around the world. However, India Beating England by five wickets in Ranchi to take an unassailable 3–1 lead in the 5-Test series, this was the first Test series defeat for England after McCullum played a key role.

“I don’t know what buzzball means. I didn’t see anyone swinging wild. England has played better cricket here than last time. But I still don’t know what buzzball means,” Rohit Sharma said in the press-conference.

But the India captain was not one to miss an opportunity to bring some humor to the proceedings. When England opener Ben Duckett praised Yashasvi Jaiswal for his aggressive cricket, Rohit couldn’t help but remind him of the flamboyant Rishabh Pant, who was known for his daring strokeplay.

Duckett said in the third Test, “When you see the opposition players playing like that, it feels like we should take some credit that they are playing different to the way other people play Test cricket.”

Rohit reminded Duckett about India wicketkeeper-batsman Pant, who is currently out of action due to multiple injuries sustained during a car accident in December 2022. “We have a guy named Rishabh Pant in our team,” Rohit said. The guy was, maybe Ben Duckett hasn’t seen him play.

As the talk turned to the series, Rohit reflected on India’s ability to bounce back from difficult situations. Indeed, it was a rollercoaster ride with moments of brilliance and resilience. “It has been a series of comebacks for us. Whenever we were under pressure, we were successful in putting pressure on the opposition team. It was a pleasure for me,” he said. India lead the series 3-1 and would like to end the series on a high with a win in Dharamshala.