"It's coming for 6 more innings" - Nasser Hussain warns Joe Root of the Jasprit Bumrah challenge for the rest of the IND-ENG series

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has admitted that star batter Joe Root will have to overcome the challenge of conquering ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the remaining three India-England Tests.

Despite the series being 1-1, the battle between Root and Bumrah has been one-way traffic. The Indian pacer has dismissed England's premier batter twice in four innings thus far and eight times overall in Tests.

In his column for the Daily Mail, Hussain cautioned Root about Bumrah being handed the ball as soon he enters the crease during the rest of the series.

"Once a bowler’s got one over on you it's a mental thing as much as a technical thing. You know what's coming and unless Bumrah gets injured, or Root's own finger is a problem, it's coming for six more innings. Root has always found a way to counter his biggest challenges and right now it is Bumrah," wrote Hussain.

"As a five-match Test series progresses, individual battles are created along the way and particularly if the ball is reverse swinging, you can bet India captain Rohit Sharma will get Bumrah on to him. Root just does not know which way it's going at the moment," he added.

Bumrah has also dismissed Root four times in white-ball cricket, including at last year's ODI World Cup.

The champion batter has battled for form in the two completed Tests against India, scoring only 52 runs in four innings at a paltry average of 13.

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"The narrative will be that Bazball doesn't work for him" - Nasser Hussain

India v England - 2nd Test Match: Day Four

Nasser Hussain felt Joe Root's struggles in the ongoing series will only strengthen the narrative of Bazball working against him despite his numbers being better in the period.

Since Brendon McCullum became England's Test coach and instituted an attacking batting approach in June 2022, Root has averaged an impressive 52.63 in 20 Tests. His overall average until that point was slightly under 50 in 117 outings.

"The narrative will be that Bazball doesn't work for him, when actually one look at the raw statistics tells you otherwise. His numbers are actually superior in this period than previously in his career. A similar discussion began in New Zealand a year ago when he tried to reverse sweep Neil Wagner, and re-directed the ball to slip," said Hussain.

Root boasts excellent overall Test numbers with 11,468 runs in 137 games at an average of 49.64, including 30 centuries.

The ace batter is also the all-time leading run-scorer against India in Tests with 2,578 runs, overtaking Ricky Ponting during the first Test in Hyderabad.