IPL 2018: Joe Root could be the missing piece in Delhi Daredevils' jigsaw puzzle
What's the story?
The IPL auction is just a week away and the excitement levels among fans are peaking. With team managements sitting down and having good, hard thoughts about which players to procure and who to turn a blind eye on, many of them would have already drawn up their list of targets.
As many as 24 English players have registered for the auction, the cream of the crop being Test skipper Joe Root. Root, while not everyone's favourite son when the T20 format is concerned, has his own set of handy skills that can be put to good use for whichever franchise he ends up at.
Several teams, including the likes of Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab will be on the lookout for leaders with a sound temperament and Root fits the bill perfectly.
The Daredevils are the franchise most likely to target Root, having let go of most of the leaders in the side. Delhi opted against retaining the likes of Zaheer Khan, Angelo Mathews and Marlon Samuels, and hence need someone to take the reins.
In case you didn't know...
Root has never featured in the IPL thus far having withdrawn his name last time around. He has been in fine form for England though, having notched five half-centuries in the recently-concluded Ashes, which his side conceded 4-0. He followed that up with match-winning contributions of 91 and 46 as England avenged their Test series defeat by taking a 2-0 lead in the ODI series.
The 27-year-old is no mug in the shortest format of the game. Despite being one of the more classical players in the international scene at the moment, Root has enjoyed a fair amount of success swinging the willow like Brendon McCullum. He averages just under 40 in T20Is and strikes at 128.76, not too bad considering his role is to nurdle and nudge and allow the big-hitters at the top to do their thing.
The heart of the matter
Having opted to retain their young Indian core in Shreyas Iyer and Rishab Pant, Delhi need a leader who can get them together and extract the best out of them, something Root is capable of doing.
Aside from just captaining the side, Root will add immense stability to the batting line-up that has struggled to pile the runs on what has been a pretty flat Kotla wicket in recent seasons. The Kotla surface has changed quite a bit since the first edition of the tournament and is expected to do so in the future as well, but Root's adaptability means he should have no problems adjusting to the pitch on offer.
Slotting in at No. 3 or 4, the Yorkshireman's presence will allow the likes of Pant at the top and Morris at the death to go full throttle from the get-go.
What's next?
Root has set his base price at INR 1.5 crore and will in all likelihood go for a lot more than that in the IPL auction set to take place at Bangalore on January 27 and 28.
Author's take
Root will fit into the Delhi set-up like a warm hand in a leather glove on a brumal night. While not your quintessential T20 player, Root has bucketloads of international experience and could put that to good use, possibly ending the Daredevils' playoff drought and, who knows, maybe even taking them all the way.