England’s Joe Root walks off after being dismissed on Day 4 of second Test vs India.© AFP
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has criticised Joe Root for the latter’s ‘Bazball’ approach during the side’s ongoing five-match Test series against India. Ahead of the second Test in Visakhapatnam, Root was practising left-handed batting in nets. The result of his preparation was seen in the game as he got off the mark with a reverse sweep in both the innings. Root has so far failed to make an impact in the series as a batter, with only 52 runs to his name across four innings.
“They (England) are in fifth gear from ball one. I don’t mind some of them playing like that because they are better for it. But Joe Root should forget it. He has 10,000 Test runs playing like Joe Root. He doesn’t need to be a Bazballer. It is time for someone in the management to put an arm around Joe and say ‘please just be yourself’,” Vaughan wrote in the UK Telegraph.
“I think it’s as simple as the fact that he is too wrapped up in Bazball, the whole ethos of excitement and entertainment. This is particularly important against spin. Along with Graham Gooch, Root is the best player of spin England has ever produced. To see him bat the way he did in the second innings, that’s not Root, and it’s not the way England are going to win in India, just gifting wickets away,” he added.
Vaughan asserted that Root’s role is to hold one end tight and keep the side going, instead of trying big shots and losing his wicket.
“I knew something was up when I saw him get off the mark in both innings with reverse sweeps. He doesn’t play like that. He gets himself in, then takes risks. Let the firecrackers play like that. Joe has to be the rock, the calming influence while the mad men tee off around him,” Vaughan said.
The India vs England five-match Test series is perfectly poised at 1-1. Visitors England won the opening game by 28 runs while Rohit Sharma and Co. squared the series with a 106-run win.
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