"Bazball needs adjustments": Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum (Pic: File Pic)

After failing to clinch the series against India, England's head coach Brendon McCullum admitted that the team's much-hyped "Bazball" approach needs some adjustment.

England started the series on a positive note with a victory in Hyderabad but things went worse for the side thereafter. India secured a win in all of the remaining matches.

Also Read: Australia move to second in WTC table after 2-0 series win over New Zealand

"Sometimes, you can get away with things. But when you're exposed the way we have been in the back end of this series in particular, it does require some pretty deep thinking and some adjustment to make sure we're staying true to what we believe in," Brendon McCullum told the travelling British media on Sunday.

"If anything, we got more timid as the series went on, and that was because of the pressure that was applied to us by the Indian line-up, not just with the ball. With the bat, they put us under a tremendous amount of pressure, too," he added.

Indian youngsters played a vital role in the series win. The absence of star players such as Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Mohammed Shami made Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel lead the charge. The series loss was England's first in the 'Bazball' era.

Ben Stokes and Co. are now winless in three series and critics have panned the one-dimensional philosophy of aggression.

"There are some things where you can get a little bit of luck on your side and you paper over a couple of the cracks. When you are exposed in the way we have been here, you know that you have to get better in some areas," McCullum said.

Also Read: Mumbai's ‘Ranji' dynasty

"The next couple of months will be us working out that and making sure when we come to the summer we are a more refined version of what we are at the minute."

England were guilty for displaying poor judgment while batting and giving away their wickets.

"Whether that affected our approach a little bit and put some doubt in our minds that wasn't there early in the series, I'm not really sure why at this point in time.

"They probably outplayed us at the style of cricket that we want to play and made us start to retreat a little bit. So that's something that we will have to change," Brendon McCullum said.

(With PTI Inputs)