Joe Root could be shunted out of England Twenty20 squad to manage his packed schedule

No more part of the T20 plans?

What’s the story?

Newly appointed England Test captain, Joe Root could be eased out International T20 side owing to the packed schedule of the team in the coming 15 months. 

England go into Champions Trophy as one of the favourites and then will take part in 14 Test matches right through the summer. Owing to this, the England management has decided to withdraw Root from the T20 series against South Africa which follows the Champions Trophy in June. 

The Details

According to a report in Sportsmail, the ECB wants to give Joe Root every opportunity to grow as a leader in the Test arena and for this they are quite prepared to cut his workload which would enable him to establish his own ethos in the England Test team. 

Also, the management wants to beef up the top order before the next World T20 which is in 2020 and hence they would want a more combative and aggressive batsman at number 3. Root is more traditional in his approach and takes his time before going for his strokes, a method which does not quite fit in with the rest of the England team which is filled with stroke makers. 

Also, the selectors are looking to identify players for specific roles and have identified aggressive stroke makers from the County circuit for the shortest format and due to this and the packed schedule facing England, Root could well face the axe from the T20 side. 

In case you didn’t know...

Joe Root was appointed the captain of the England Test team after Alastair Cook stepped down from the job following a tumultuous tour to the sub-continent where the England team lost to Bangladesh and then went on to be smashed 4-0 by India in the 5-match Test series. 

Root has not yet walked out as the captain of England, but the selectors have already made their plans pretty clear for the future. 

What's next?

It would be interesting to see how Root reacts to such proposal in the future as he has been a gun player for England across all three formats. Also, with plenty of options in the County circuit, the shape and formation of the England T20 side could be a very dynamic one as the selectors would want to test few unknown players in order to form a bench strength. 

Author's Take

The policy of rotating players has always ignited debates in the cricketing circuits, but this approach mulled by the England management is certainly unique as they want to identify and give players specific roles in all 3 formats. 

Root’s real test begins when he leads England for the first time and whether or not this decision to ease off his workload as any effect on his game and leadership traits remains to be seen!