Joe Root: "People will have their own opinions on how I've got out through this series... I will continue playing the way I think is best for any given situation"; follow the fifth Test between India and England from March 7-11 on skysports.com and the Sky Sports App
Tuesday 5 March 2024 09:02, UK
Joe Root insists he has no regrets over his choice of shot selection as he has discussed his battle for form on England's tour of India on the latest Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.
Root was heavily criticised for getting out to a reverse scoop on the third morning of the third Test in Rajkot, his dismissal triggering a batting collapse of 8-95 in England's first innings in a match they'd ultimately lose by 434 runs.
Averaging just 12.83 heading into the fourth Test of the series, Root played himself back into form with a fine first-innings 122 in Ranchi though it wasn't enough to deny India clinching a series win - the hosts leading 3-1 with one Test to play.
Ahead of the fifth Test in Dharamshala, which starts on Thursday, Root told Sky Sports: "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."
Root, however, doubled down on his reverse-scoop dismissal to Jasprit Bumrah in the third Test, despite receiving some stinging criticism for the choice of shot. The Telegraph's chief cricket writer Scyld Berry described it at the time as "the worst, most stupid, shot in the history of England's Test cricket".
"People will have their own opinions on how I've got out through this series and what is best for me," Root said.
"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."
England had pushed their score on to 224-2 on that third third morning in Rajkot, 221 behind India's first-innings total, and their hosts were down a bowler after Ravichandran Ashwin's withdrawal mid-Test due to a family emergency.
Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain said of Root's dismissal at the time: "There is nothing wrong with the shot, Root plays it as well as anybody, but it is the timing of it...
"Make Bumrah get to his second or third spell and make them suffer. That was a time to be a little bit smarter."
On that point, Root added: "You could say that I didn't need to play that shot in that moment, but whenever I have played it previously you could also say that too.
"It could have completely changed the complexion of that morning, with India a bowler down.
"There has been a lot of talk about Ashwin not being there and seeing off Bumrah. But if Bumrah goes for four an over in that spell, they've got one less bowler to turn to - and we could get ahead of the game even quicker on a potentially deteriorating wicket and put more pressure on India.
"They were my thought processes at the time and I stick by them. I just look at my execution of it."
Root returned to form with his 31st Test hundred in the fourth Test in Ranchi but it failed to prevent England from a third-straight loss as they went down by five wickets in a nerve-wracking finish on the fourth day.
It means that, after a period of unprecedented success to start Ben Stokes' captaincy, with 10 wins from England's first 11 Tests under his and head coach Brendon McCullum's leadership, only four have followed from the last 11.
Root, however, remains fully on board with the team's positive approach, christened 'Bazball', as they prepare for the final Test of the tour in Dharamshala.
"I don't think this team does 'regret'," he said.
"If you look at the last two years since Ben took over as captain and Brendon came in as coach, our batting lineup in particular, the consistency throughout and some of the individual performances have been in stark contrast to what they were before that.
"The bigger picture is that it's not about just going out there and blasting it, it's about how can we get the best out of each other?
"There won't always be one way to play; there are going to be times where you have got to be pragmatic and play slightly differently. But when you get the chance to express yourself, and be the best possible version of yourself, you have to take it."
Root added: "We've found things out we didn't know before this series. There are things, taking a more long-term view, that have set us up in a good place going forward.
"Obviously results are what you're going to get judged on externally, but there are things that have been very good throughout as well."
Follow text commentary from day one of the fifth Test between India and England live on skysports.com and the Sky Sports App from 3.30am on Thursday March 7 (4am first ball).
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