R Ashwin Says "England Betrayed Everyone" At Lord's, Calls Out 'PrankBall'

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was surprised as much as any other cricket fan as the England team snubbed 'BazBall' for 'PrankBall' in the third Test against India at Lord's. Ashwin, who has had the experience of playing against different England sides over the years, couldn't comprehend the approach displayed by Ben Stokes' men as their batters went into their shells against India on Day 1 of the match. In a video on his YouTube channel, Ashwin accused England of 'betraying everyone' by adopting an approach contradicting their cricketing philosophy.

"It was a great day for England. Everyone believed England was going to continue with Bazball, but they betrayed everyone by playing Prankball instead. They usually score at a net run rate of 4, 4.5 an over, but today was different. England were going at three runs an over. I had previously discussed that Joe Root scoring runs is very important for the team. Commeth the man, Commeth the hour. His innings was a lesson in how Test cricket needs to be played. Root is back," Ashwin said in the video

While it was Ben Stokes who compared the Edbaston pitch in the second Test to 'subcontinent wickets', Ashwin thought the Lord's surface also had similarities to the kind of wickets used in India.

"If you look at this pitch, it possesses some sub-continent tendencies. The ball usually softens up after 60 overs, but if you look at Ravindra Jadeja, one back of a length delivery hit Joe Root's bat very low. Now, this on Day 1 at Lord's is quite a contrast to the conditions that you expect in England. The up and bounce at Lord's was always going to be a concern, and we saw that when Nitish Reddy picked up two wickets and also had Ben Stokes in trouble momentarily," added Ashwin.

Ashwin feels India will find themselves in the game if they manage to restrict England to a score below 350.

"There is contrasting bounce and variable pace on this pitch. If I were India, I would be telling the bowler to roll them out in the first session tomorrow. Can they keep England below 350? Because the longer England play, this surface is going to play tricks."

Trending News