"Great chance for us" - Joe Root optimistic of England defending World Cup title in India

Former England Test captain Joe Root is optimistic about England’s chances in the upcoming 50-over World Cup slated to be played in India later this year.

Root reckoned that England’s experience of playing in subcontinental conditions will come in handy once the World Cup begins in October.

The Three Lions are the defending champions, having won the tournament in 2019 at home soil. England produced a masterclass in the World Cup, eventually winning their maiden ODI World Cup title by defeating New Zealand in the final in dramatic fashion.

After the match and the super-over were tied, England were declared winners on the basis of boundary count.

During an interaction with PTI, Joe Root said:

"It's (World Cup) a great opportunity, great chance, we have not experienced it before. To defend our world title is going be a great chance for us.

"I think guys have spent a lot of time in India and understand those conditions well. It will depend on how we play spin consistently; how we can play in the limited number of 50-over games we have before the World Cup.”

Root has a stellar record in ODI cricket, with over 6000 runs at an average of 50.05, including 16 centuries. However, things haven’t quite gone his way since the 2019 World Cup. The 32-year-old hasn’t scored a century in the last 19 ODI innings.

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Joe Root hasn't been part of the white ball set-up since July 2022

Root is currently plying his trade for the Dubai Capitals in the inaugural International League T20 (ILT20). He isn’t part of the England squad which will travel to South Africa for the three-match ODI series.

The experienced campaigner will look to make full use of his stint in ILT20 to stake a claim for a spot in the ODI team. In this regard, Root sounded optimistic about making it to the World Cup squad later in the year.

"Look, at the end of the year we have (the) World Cup in India. I can learn a lot about myself (in ILT20), put myself in different scenarios. I have had no experience (of limited-overs cricket) for a while. (I'll) see if it (ILT20) can help me grow better as a player,” Joe Root stated.

Root's last white ball assignment was against South Africa at Leeds in an ODI. Since then, he has been out of favor but the experience of playing some white-ball cricket will surely come in handy, especially if the England team management decides to bring in the experience of Root due to his exploits against spin.

However, given the template England have followed in limited-overs cricket, it will be tall ask for Joe Root to break into the white ball team.