After suffering a hammering at the hands of the Indian Cricket Team, England captain Alastair Cook has dropped hints that his days as the leader of the side could be limited.
Cook has also endorsed Joe Root to succeed him and believes that young man has done enough to warrant a look in as the skipper. And Cook's shout is not totally out of place.
The man himself has said that he does not enjoy staying away from home for long and that captaincy does have its share of isolating moments.
Here in this list, we take at look at 5 reasons why Joe Root is now ready and should be given the mantle of the ravaged England team.
#1 Leading batsman
There is no denying the fact that Joe Root is one of the leading batsmen in the world currently. He has churned out scores in all conditions across all formats and is technically very proficient.
Thus, if he is given the leadership role, he could do what Virat Kohli is doing for India. The additional responsibility has spurred Kohli even more and he has reached an inspirational level for the team in Test matches and wants to set a benchmark.
Root can similarly inspire the England team as he is enjoying a rich vein of form and looks good to serve his nation for many more years to come. Hence, the time is ripe for the selectors to hand him the mantle and then give him a long rope to express himself and impose his ethos on the team.
#2 Similar age group
Much like the current Indian team, the England team too has players who are in the similar age group. This will allow Joe Root to be on the same page as his players and would allow the team to prosper and communicate better.
Also, the fact that many of the players have played many of their cricket with or against each other would make them very comfortable in each other's company and which would be instrumental in forging lasting relationships both on and off the field.
#3 An aggressive approach
The England ODI team under Trevor Bayliss and Eoin Morgan have turned a corner in One Day Internationals. This is due to the radical shift in their approach towards the format. Bayliss and Morgan have infused a sense of freedom into the team.
Much along the same lines, the Test team could undergo a change if Root takes over. Alastair Cook's captaincy is more like an extension of his batting. He likes to wait for the opposition to make a mistake and then goes for the kill. This attitude is brought into his captaincy as well, and thus he has been placed under a lot of scrutinies.
Joe Root is more aggressive player and thus he could bring this approach into captaincy as well and could infuse a more positive attitude into the players.
#4 More sense of instinct when it comes down to selecting players
There have been instances when Alastair Cook has been criticised for abiding by the book way too much. He goes by the fixed stereotype and very often does not budge from his stance. This has a bearing on the team selection and the tactics employed on the field.
Joe Root, on the other hand, is far more instinctive and if his batting is anything to go by seems to rely more on situations while taking decisions. If he can bring this attribute into captaincy, England cricket will be much better served in the future.
Also, Cook could have reached a shelf life as far his captaincy is concerned, hence it would not be a bad bet to place responsibility in the hands of a youthful Joe Root.
#5 No captaincy baggage
Having gone through all the aforementioned reasons, one must also factor in the Joe Root's captaincy experience. He has captained in all but 4 first class matches and many believe that this could impede his captaincy elevation.
However, on the contrary, Root could use to this advantage as he would bring in new ideas which would be bereft of any old baggage.
This would also help him to start his tenure with a clean slate and this always helps whenever any stint is about to commence.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
