Who said what - Top 3 expert reactions to Joe Root's form in England Tests ft. Nasser Hussain
England's star batter Joe Root is going through a horrific run of form in the ongoing Test series against India.
A lot of pundits, commentators and ex-cricketers widely criticised Root for the choice of shots he employed to get out in this series, with a scoop he played to Jasprit Bumrah in the first innings in Rajkot, meriting the most of the attention.
Root, who has scored 11,493 Test runs in his career by now, has struggled aplenty in India this series. The right-hander has amassed just 77 runs in the six innings he has played so far, at an average of just above 12.
In this article, we bring to you three reactions from the said experts regarding Root's form in Tests.
#1 Michael Vaughan
Former England captain Michael Vaughan was one of the most outspoken critics of Joe Root but also one of his biggest supporters.
Writing for the English daily The Telegraph, Vaughan elaborated on why his fellow Yorkshireman has not been able to be among the runs in this series.
“The trouble in India is that Jasprit Bumrah seems to have his (Root) number, having dismissed him eight times in Tests. That means that he’s got a problem with the only seamer who will bowl much to him, and with his method against spin,” wrote Vaughan.
“That means going back to what made him such a brilliant player against spin. They need their rock at No. 4 to peel off a couple of big hundreds, to bat all day. He will score at a good lick that way anyway. Root is the anomaly in this team for that reason. He’s their beautiful classic car, surrounded by souped-up sports cars,” he elaborated.
#2 Nasser Hussain
Former England captain Nasser Hussain, who is a pundit and commentator on television these days, spoke highly of Joe Root and mentioned that his form will be back in no time at all.
Hussain firmly believes that the dip in form is just an aberration for Root, and the latter will assess his dismissals and learn from his mistakes.
He spoke to SkySports Cricket about the same:
"Joe can assess his dismissals himself - that is what makes him a great player. He averages 51 under this regime, playing this way. And he averaged 49 before that. So, statistically, he has been better playing this way."
"What we know about Bazball is that it will thrill and frustrate you in equal measure. When he manages to connect, we all go, "Wow! Well done Joe!" but when he fails, we criticise him. Bazball is about attacking, but also about soaking up pressure," he added.
#3 Rudra Pratap Singh
Former India seamer RP Singh, who occasionally appears on television as a cricket pundit these days, was scathing in his criticism of the form Root has displayed in this series.
The 14-Test veteran, when speaking to Colors Cineplex, mentioned that the shot that Root played to get out to Bumrah in Rajkot - an extravagant scoop - would have ended the career of any other player.
"The shot Joe Root played - if someone had played such a shot at domestic or club level - his career might have gotten over. He would have been asked to first correct things and come back as you can't play like that," Singh said.
"I don't know how the support staff will see that shot. I never thought such a compact player would play this shot and that too against Jasprit Bumrah. He might have thought two days ago that he would try something unique as Bumrah was anyway going to dismiss him," Singh added.