These days ‘Badgeball’ is a topic of discussion in the corridors of cricket. Indeed, England are making a renewed effort to revive their Test cricket with this word from their new head coach, Brendon McCullum. Under the mentorship of Brendon McCullum, England’s red-ball revolution began with a clean sweep of New Zealand in the Test series. England also defeated the mighty Indian team on 5 July 2022 in Birmingham. After India’s loss, head coach Rahul Dravid was asked to share his thoughts on ‘Badgeball’. This great cricketer gave a funny answer.
The Indian team lost the rescheduled fifth test match against England by 7 wickets. Team India dominated the first 3 days in this match played from 1 to 5 July 2022 at Edgbaston. It looked like she would easily win this test match, but on the fourth and last day of 2 hours of play, the whole story changed. Playing aggressive cricket, England not only won the match, but also leveled the series.
‘Badgeball’ is an idea. Brendon McCullum’s nickname is ‘Badge’. England’s aggressive policy is his idea. Before McCullum took over as coach, England’s performance was quite disappointing. Since then the team has won 4 out of 4 Test matches. After the defeat of Team India, in a press conference, a journalist asked head coach Rahul Dravid to give his views on ‘Badgeball’.
The journalist asked Rahul Dravid, “Badgeball, badgeball,” you have heard about him, many people feel that this will change the whole of cricket. What are your views on ‘Badgeball’ from that point of view.’ On this Rahul Dravid kept silent for a while, then smiled and said, ‘I do not know what it is, but…. As soon as he said this, everyone present in the press conference started laughing. You can also watch that video below.
However, later Rahul Dravid completed the reply saying, ‘I must say that the kind of cricket he has played has been really brilliant. The England team has been exceptional in chasing the target. Chasing the target in the fourth innings in England has never been easier. Whether you want to play any brand of cricket depends on a lot of players.
Rahul Dravid further said, ‘What kind of form they (England team) are in at present, it also matters. When players are in good form, they definitely play more positive cricket. Like we did in the first innings, in which Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja were playing well.