IND vs ENG 2021: "I think his game has also grown"- Joe Root on Haseeb Hameed

England captain Joe Root spoke to the press about Haseeb Hameed ahead of the 2nd Test match of the Pataudi Trophy at Lord's. Root played alongside Hameed in his first Test at Rajkot in November of 2016 and commented on how he was impressed by the 19-year-old's maturity at the time.

Hameed made a bright start to the series but faltered in the 3rd Test when he was dismissed for just nine runs. The youngster missed the rest of the tour following an injury to his finger.

"Since the first day I have met him, I have been extremely impressed of him as a person - his maturity as a young man then. I think he had served us well during a difficult spell of his career and now you are seeing him come back into some really good form," said Root.

Joe Root is also impressed by how Haseeb Hameed has improved his game over the years and added more shots to his repertoire. Root believes that Hameed will make the most of his opportunity when he gets one.

"You talk about him physically grown, I think his game has also grown. He has added shots to what is a really strong defense. He is a brilliant player who has an extremely good work ethic and he thinks about the game really well," said Root.

Haseeb Hameed has just scored a hundred against India#CountyXIvIndia pic.twitter.com/0QtNgpLTo8

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) July 21, 2021

Root also rates Haseeb Hameed as a student of the game and believes he had the character to come back from the setbacks he faced as a young player.

"I think more than anything, it takes huge strength of character to be able to go through something like that and get yourself back into the position that he is right now. He has a great understanding now of how he wants to score his runs and how he wants to play the game. It's great to see him back in an English shirt. We could all see a potential there when he went out to India and played those games," commented Root.