'They may get absolutely destroyed': Michael Vaughan's stern warning to England over Bazball approach against India

England announced their 16-man squad for the upcoming five-match Test series in India set to take place in early 2024. The selectors have named three uncapped individuals, namely Shoaib Bashir, the 20-year-old offspinner from Somerset, left-arm spinner Tom Hartley, and fast bowler Gus Atkinson. Former England captain Michael Vaughan did not sound too confident while speaking about England’s chances in India and even issued a stark warning to Brendon McCullum and his team. According to Vaughan, the Bazball strategy employed by England could face a significant challenge and may risk being “absolutely destroyed” against an Indian side that has superb spinners. Now, England’s Bazball approach has been quite a revelation and this has also given them rewards in Test cricket over the last 18 months under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum - they have won 13 out of 18 Tests since McCullum’s appointment. Vaughan, however, expressed skepticism about its effectiveness against world-class spinners such as Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the Indian conditions. “Ultimately the hardest place to play in the world is India and if you actually go back to the Ashes when Nathan Lyon was fit and bowling nicely, Australia were 2-0 up in the series,” Vaughan told Fox Sports. He cited Lyon’s success against England’s Bazball strategy and then said that facing the trio of Ashwin, Jadeja, and Axar Patel on spinning wickets in India might prove to be a bridge too far for this England side. “Now that’s just one spinner, if you look at that five-for he got at Edgbaston and the field was spread and England got out to him by playing ridiculous shots at times. If you add in Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar Patel on spinning wickets in India, they may get blown away, they may get absolutely destroyed,” he went on to add. England are slated to play five Tests in India early next year, starting with the first Test in Hyderabad from 25 January. The remaining four Tests will be played in Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala with the series concluding on 11 March.