"No one knows my game as well as I do" - Joe Root vows to keep playing reverse ramp despite polarising opinions
England ace batter Joe Root has said that he will keep playing the reverse scoop despite polarising opinions about the shot.
The Yorkshire batter had played the reverse ramp to significant effect during the home summer of 2022 and 2023. However, it backfired during the third Test against India in Rajkot against Jasprit Bumrah, resulting in his dismissal a a crucial juncture. Root copped backlash as England conceded a 126-run lead.
The 33-year-old told Sky Sports that he knows his game the best and that there will be times when he gets the reverse ramp wrong:
"People will have their own opinions on how I've got out through this series and what is best for me. I will continue playing the way I think is best for any given situation. No one knows my game as well as I do. The reason I've got to where I've got to is because I've always looked to keep trying to get better, improve and evolve.
"That's got to keep happening. If you stand still in this game, with the amount of information and analysis out there, you'll get found out. I'm not always going to get it right. I'm going to make the odd mistake."
Till the fourth Test in Ranchi, the 33-year-old had a forgettable India tour. With the right-hander restraining his aggressive approach, he struck an unbeaten 122 to rescue the tourists from a precarious situation on Day 1.
"I tried to just play the game in front of me" - Joe Root
Root added that he was disappointed to not be contributing the way he would have liked to in the first three Tests. About his century in Ranchi, the ex-captain reckoned that the match situation needed someone to bed in.
"I have high expectations of myself, and until that last Test match, I was way below where I want to be. I felt short of runs, I felt like I'd not contributed how I'd expect myself to and how I wanted to coming into the tour.
"It's a part of the world I love batting in, and I've had previous success here. I tried to just play the game in front of me. I looked at that situation and those conditions there (in Ranchi), and it didn't need anything flamboyant. It needed someone to be a constant throughout and try to keep a calm feel to things."
England trail the five-match series 3-1 against India, with the fifth game starting in Dharamsala on March 7.