Ben Stokes’ aggressive captaincy, according to former Indian bowler and current BCCI President Roger Binny, is the main cause of England’s downfall. Ben Stokes‘ inability to bowl was a huge blow to the side as Stokes is someone who can fox the batters with his variations and his captaincy was quite questionable as well.
England lost three straight games after winning the first Test match in Hyderabad, forcing them to give up the series with one match left. Prior to the Indian tour, Ben Stokes had won 13 of the 18 games he had played since taking over as England’s permanent Test captain, never losing a series.
The captaincy of Ben Stokes so far has been more aggressive- Roger Binny
Binny feels that Rohit’s outstanding performance as captain has been crucial to the series’ conclusion in an interview with the PTI.
“Well, the captaincy of Ben Stokes so far he has been more aggressive, and I think that has been the (reason for their) downfall in the few Test matches. Being so aggressive and trying to take on the Indian spinners in difficult times (situations) rather than hanging around and trying to make a big score. Rohit Sharma again has been very tactful. You know he knew exactly what he wanted to do and he got his bowlers to do that,” Roger Binny elaborated.
Between 1979 and 1987, Roger Binny played for India in 72 ODIs and 27 Test matches. The former Indian bowler believed that, in most cases, it was not wise for the English willow wielders to adopt an all-or-nothing strategy against a strong Indian spin attack.
“I don’t think England changed their strategy. They went on the same attacking mode like what they did in the first Test match. But, I think, Rohit was more patient because he had the first Test in his pocket at one stage and then he let it go. He was patient enough in the next two Tests and won both,” he added.
I think England have themselves to blame for the situation- Roger Binny
After Day 1 of the ongoing Fifth Test in Dharamsala, Roger Binny believes that England should only look to themselves for their current situation. The visitors won the early toss and raced to 100/1, only to be bowled out for a disappointing 218 in the first innings due to an all too familiar collapse.
Nine of the ten wickets were claimed by the spin combo of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin, with the last wicket going to third spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
“I think England have themselves to blame for the situation they are in at the moment. I think they started well in the morning, they looked as if they would put up a fighting score. I think the Test series has been very one-sided after the first Test that England won. From then onwards, the Indian team has done well and it has dominated the series,” Binny expressed.
By the time play ended on the first day, India had already quickly erased the majority of the deficit, reaching 135/1. After making a quick 57, the scorching Yashasvi Jaiswal was the first batter to be removed, but captain Rohit Sharma is looking strong at 52.