'I have missed cricket immensely,' admits Joe Root

England Test skipper Joe Root has revealed that he has greatly missed cricket after it was suspended as a precaution against the COVID-19 outbreak.

After a break of more than three months, international cricket is set to return with the West Indies' tour of England. The two teams are set to play a three-match Test series beginning on July 8 and it will be followed by a three-match T20I series.

Speaking in a Facebook live chat, Root said:

"I have missed the sport immensely. It is the longest break I have had from cricket since I have started playing the game as a 12-year-old. But it has given me an opportunity to take my mind off things, rest and freshen up before what is going to be an exciting summer of cricket."

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Cricket will be the talking point once we hit the restart button: Joe Root

Keeping in mind the danger of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ICC has come up with a new set of rules and regulations ahead of cricket's return. These rules include playing behind closed doors, a ban on the usage of saliva to shine the ball, COVID-19 substitutes, etc.

While Joe Root acknowledged that the series against West Indies will be different in a lot of ways, he believes that both teams need to trust the fact that a bio-secure environment would be provided so that cricket could make a successful return.

He said:

" We have been reassured by everyone involved in putting this together that things will be extremely safe and I think we have got to trust these people. I think it's the right time to get back to playing again. Hopefully, things will run smoothly. Cricket will be the talking point once we hit the restart button," Joe Root asserted.