Joe Root is leaving the T20 world behind because he is too important for England

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  • Dent to his confidence: Joe Root.

    Watching a player of Joe Root‘s stature ferry drinks out to the middle during the final T20I against India in Bristol certainly didn’t look or feel right.

    It was though befitting of the England Test captain’s character and attitude that he just got on with his 12th man duties like an up-and-coming youngster, taking the decision limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan and stand-in coach Paul Farbrace made to drop him, in place of the bigger-hitting Ben Stokes, on the chin.

    On Thursday, the 27-year-old will resume his role in what is a formidable England one-day international batting order for the opening clash of the three-match 50-over series against the men in blue, beginning in Nottingham.

    But, make no mistake, after a subdued run of form which saw him register just nine runs in the two 20-over innings he did contest with India and average only 26 in the recent 5-0 ODI whitewash of Australia without any serious contributions, Root’s confidence has been hit.

    “He is our best player. He is a fantastic player in all forms of the game,” were the words of the ever-positive Farbrace, when asked about the batsman, a man he had previously deemed virtually undroppable.

    Farbrace continued: “In T20 you need players who can manipulate the strike and can keep you in the entire game and that is a skill that Joe has.”

    There is no doubt Root – one of the finest batsman England has ever produced – is capable of that and has proven so before. Think back to his game-changing 44-ball 83 against South Africa during the 2016 ICC World T20 in India, helping the Three Lions hunt down 230, which stands as the third-highest chase of all time.

    We will likely witness an upturn in Root’s fortunes this series, on flat batting-friendly tracks, but the anticipated fightback should not detract from a wider issue moving forward here.

    Root is perhaps a victim of his own technically-astute and classical batting talent, as well as versatility, that up until now has made him a world-class cross-platform batter, particularly in Tests and ODIs.

    NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - JULY 11:  Joe Root of England speaks with coach Graham Thorpe during a nets session at Trent Bridge on July 11, 2018 in Nottingham, England.  (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

    Joe Root in conversation with batting coach Graham Thorpe ahead of the first ODI.

    It is vital runs keep flowing for him in ODIs ahead of next year’s 50-over World Cup on home soil, a tournament in which Morgan’s No.1-ranked men are heavily fancied.

    However, since the World T20 two years ago, he has stagnated in the format as the pressures of running the Test side have increased.

    He has scored 193 runs at 27.57 (strike rate 104.89) in eight matches since England’s run through to that final defeat against West Indies, while he managed close to 40 in the build-up to the event and throughout the tournament itself.

    Add in the fact that, according to The Telegraph, Root has turned out in only 11 T20s in the past three years and played just eight international T20Is in the past two, then that is simply not enough.

    Off the back of that, Root was overlooked in this year’s IPL auction again and watched on as international team-mate Jos Buttler became an English trailblazer for the competition.

    Root has made no secret of the fact he wants to play more T20 cricket but given England are busy all-year around it is difficult. For instance, the 2019 World Cup is followed by a home Ashes and a full tour of South Africa in 2019/20.

    It is a catch-22. New Zealander Kane Williamson, a man billed in the same category as Root when it comes to traditional batting talent, had similar problems proving his worth in the age of big-hitting. Before the last edition of the IPL, he had struggled to score quickly and pace short innings for his country.

    But when opportunity knocked – the key factor here – he took it. Williamson may well look at Root with a hint of jealousy that England, one of the big three in international cricket, will forever have a jam-packed schedule the Kiwis could only dream of. But he was able to make his stint in India work due to no other commitments.

    A total of 735 runs for Williamson – a high in this year’s installment at 52.50 – followed for finalists Sunrisers Hyderabad and all of a sudden there was proof that a culturally gifted cricketer did not just have to be big and brawny, they could have brains too.

    Simply put, Root has not been involved often enough nor at the business end of proceedings, in the pressure-cooker moments where today’s stars are earning their stripes. His 28 T20I outings for England compared to Buttler’s 65 is one such example of contract.

    Virat Kohli has obviously benefitted from the IPL given India base their schedule around their marquee stage, whereas Root is restricted.

    So, what is the solution? There is no obvious one. Root has always put England first and while that is admirable and is set to always be the case, his sacrifices mean that he has not kept pace with the glitzy world of T20. We can only hope more chances arrive.

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