After a point, it feels like a matter of convenience. And because of this label, and the narrative hyperbole around it, the larger point sometimes gets lost. Despite the hurt that they genuinely feel after such a defeat, and athletes do feel so irrespective of what they say in public, the likes of Duckett, Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root have thrived under Stokes and McCullum. The openers, especially, have grown in confidence. Crawley (407) and Duckett (343) scored a lot more than they did the last time they toured India. Both Hartley and Bashir might not be finished products, but they could well evolve into better Test cricketers for England. This is what Stokes meant when he said, “I judge a lot of what we do in terms of inputs of every individual towards the team.”

Yes, they played really bad shots. And yes, some of them, including Stokes, looked clueless against spin, and the Bazball narratives got a bit tiring as the series progressed. But it is hard to deny that England challenged, and pushed India to dig deep — at least till Ranchi, and that series was entertaining.

This brings the focus back to what Stokes said about sounding “deluded”. Maybe, delulu is the solulu for England, and it is absolutely fine because it seems to be working for them. But what world cricket can do without is the narrative that it is the solution for everyone else too.