Gavaskar Calls Attributing India’s Aggressive Play Against Bangladesh To Gambhir As Footlicking

Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has attributed the Indian cricket team’s aggressive approach during the second Test match against Bangladesh entirely to captain Rohit Sharma. Despite rain delays and a wet outfield affecting three days of play in Kanpur, Rohit’s leadership guided India to a dominant victory. The team bundled out Bangladesh twice in just two days, while the Indian batters shattered five batting records in a single day.

In his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar dismissed the idea that the aggressive strategy should be credited to coach Gautam Gambhir, who has only recently taken up his coaching role. He emphasised that the real credit goes to Rohit Sharma, suggesting that the term “Gamball” makes no sense.

“Gambhir has only been coaching for a couple of months, so attributing this approach to him is foot-licking of the highest quality. Gambhir himself hardly ever batted in this fashion like McCullum used to do. If any credit is due, it is solely to Rohit and nobody else.”

Gavaskar noted that while England’s aggressive “Bazball” approach is associated with coach Brendon McCullum, India’s style under Rohit deserves its own recognition.

“As seen in India last year, this approach doesn’t always work in Test matches and may catch the opposition off guard for a few games,” Gavaskar wrote. “Some have referred to India’s batting as ‘Bossball,’ attributing it to the ‘boss’ of the team, Rohit. Others called it ‘Gamball,’ after coach Gautam Gambhir, but Gambhir himself never played in this fashion.”

Gavaskar went on to point out that Rohit has been playing with this attacking mindset for the past few years, even before Gambhir took on the coaching role. “If any credit is due, it is solely to Rohit and nobody else. Gambhir hardly ever batted in this style, unlike McCullum,” he added.

The former Indian captain even suggested a new name for the approach, proposing it be called “Gohit,” inspired by Rohit Sharma’s name, rather than the lazy imitation of “Bazball.” He concluded by hoping that a more creative term will emerge to define this distinct strategy under Rohit’s leadership.

India’s aggressive performance in the Test match has drawn comparisons to England’s famed “Bazball,” but Gavaskar insists that Rohit deserves the recognition for driving this bold approach in Indian cricket.