Joe Root due to be 'available for England' in ODI series with India

Joe Root is due to be available for the start of England's one-day international series against India after the birth of his son.

The batsman delayed his departure to be with his partner Carrie for the birth of their first child, which arrived on Saturday morning, but will not be taking an extended paternity leave.

Instead, Root will be joining his team-mates in Mumbai on Thursday and is set to play in Sunday's first ODI in Pune, which is live on Sky Sports.

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Captain Eoin Morgan said: "He (Root's son) and his wife are healthy which is great news and Joe should be ready for selection for the first ODI, which is also great news."

Root is a first-choice player across all three formats and needs to have his workload managed as a result but Morgan insisted his new family circumstances did not alter England's thinking on this occasion.

"We always consider that because Joe is first on the list to be rested if there is an opportunity," said Morgan.

"We feel given this is a short series and we have three weeks at home before the West Indies tour, that the lead in to our summer is pretty casual really when you look at the international calendar and the opportunity for him to rest.

"So there's always the debate and we feel at the moment there's enough rest between now and the Champions Trophy for him to feel fresh at the start of June."

Yorkshireman Root scored 491 runs in the Test tour of India at the end of last year which saw Alastair Cook's side suffer a comprehensive 4-0 defeat.

The series loss led to calls for Root to replace Cook as captain in the Test format. 

However, England coach Paul Farbrace says the team are in favour of Cook staying on. Last month he said: "When you lose a series 4-0, of course people will talk about the leadership.

"We all know that. We would all, at the end of this series, be having a think about what we can do better, what we have learned from this series, and what we need to do to make this team win.

"But there's nobody looking round the dressing room thinking, 'Oh, I wonder who's in charge?'. It's very clear who's in charge, and that hasn't changed."

Watch the first ODI between India and England live on Sky Sports 2 this Sunday from 7.30am.