the University of Leeds, UK, June 18 (ANI): Having sitting as leader from 2017 to 2022, England’s talismanic cricketer Joe Root declared it was fair to pay the favor through selecting Cricket leader Ben Stokes its backup.
3,117 of the Yorkshireman’s 13,006 Test runs have come in the previous three years, and 36 Tests have been played since the flamboyant all-rounder took over as captain three years ago.
Root first felt odd about rejoining the team after leading it, but he has averaged 56.67 in what he describes as the most pleasurable period of his career. The 34-year-old believed that the best way to support Stokes was to score a lot of runs.
“As my vice-captain, Ben has done so much for me; now it is my turn to return the favor. Returning to the squad after serving as its leader was challenging and strange.
“I was aware that scoring runs was a major component of that. I wanted to be confident that I could have an impact on games with the bat, and obviously, if I were to follow his example as a previous captain, it would send a powerful message to anyone joining the squad or who was not as experienced as I was,” he continued.
After being hired as head coach, Brendon McCullum and Stokes developed a strong working relationship that led to the creation of the “Bazball” style of play in 2022. Although playing an attacking style of cricket is the traditional norm of the theory, Root believes there is much more to that approach than meets the eye.
“It is the most fun time of my career right now.” playing in the manner that we do and in the constructed world. “Ben and [head coach] Brendon [McCullum] have done an amazing job, and it is been a lot of joy,” he remarked.
He continued, “There is a lot more strategy to it than is usually perceived, but it has obviously been a major adjustment and is different from how a lot of teams play.”
In the next five Test matches against India, which begin at Headingley on June 20, Stokes will require Root’s prolific form. India’s batting heavyweights, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, withdrew from the format last year, but the redesigned tourists are still considered a serious threat.
Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, and Harshit Rana comprise the Indian team.
Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (capt), Josh Tongue, and Chris Woakes are the England team for their first Test match against India.
