Former India batter Mohammed Kaif said he could not comprehend the hype around the leadership of England Test captain Ben Stokes after his side fell behind by their own Bazball metrics in the Edgbaston Test against India.
At the end of day four, India had walloped a record 1014 runs across both innings to set a gigantic 608-run target for Stokes and Co. to try and gun down with a maximum of 118 overs left in the game. Under Stokes’ leadership and brand ‘Bazball’, England have attempted to try and take the equation of a draw out from any circumstances by either chasing down tall totals or fall trying. Since June 2022 under Stokes’ fall-time captaincy, England have won 21 of the 34 Tests played, lost 12 and only drawn one match in rain-hit circumstances.
While England attempted to maintain their approach to try and win the contest, India made quick inroads late on Day 4 as pacers Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj packed openers Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley and the veteran Joe Root, leaving the home side reeling at 72 for three by stumps.
I have never understood the hype around Ben Stokes the captain. On a flat track with sun shining he decides to bowl, today with some life in pitch edges flying but no extra slip. Batsmen took England to win in first Test but Stokes didn’t score many. Please inform if I have…
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 5, 2025
Kaif questioned Stokes’ mentality to opt to bowl first on a flat-bed Edgbaston surface that has witnessed several batting records being broken, led by the incredible twin centuries from India captain Shubman Gill. Totalling 430 runs in the match, Gill became the first man to record a 250-plus and 150-plus scores in the same Test.
“I have never understood the hype around Ben Stokes the captain. On a flat track with sun shining he decides to bowl, today with some life in pitch edges flying but no extra slip. Batsmen took England to win in first Test but Stokes didn’t score many. Please inform if I have missed any of his hidden leadership master stroke,” wrote Kaif on X.
Stokes has had an average run with the bat in the series and fell for a golden duck for the first time in his 202-innings Test career against Siraj in the first innings. The southpaw has had an average run in Tests since last year, scoring only 664 runs in 27 innings at a 26.56 average with five half-centuries.
