Joe Root Desperate to fit in to What Ben Stokes And Brendon McCullum Are Doing: Alastair Cook

Legendary England batter Alastair Cook feels that the Bazball approach has somehow impacted Joe Root’s form in Test cricket. Root has been England’s leading batter for the past few years but struggled to score big in the first two Test against India.

Premier paceman Jasprit Bumrah has dismissed him twice this series as Root is lagging behind in the battle with the Indian bowlers.

He has scored 52 runs in the series so far while the other batters have stepped up with their attacking batting approach which stunned the Indian spinners.

Also Read | ‘All of Them Showcased Character Albeit Being Young and Raw’, Says Brendon McCullum on England’s Spinners

Former captain Cook hailed Root as England’s best-ever batter but said that he struggles a bit in the Bazball era

“He is England’s best batsman there’s ever been in all formats – but he does struggle sometimes with the tempo of this Bazball era,” said Cook on TNT Sports.

Cook further asserted that Root is desperate to fit in England’s new brand of cricket as the other batters in the team have adopted the aggressive approach easily in the red-ball cricket.

“He sees all these other people playing these aggressive shots, which suit their style. Rooty has got 11,500 Test runs, he’s brilliant, but he’s so desperate to fit in to what Ben (Stokes) and Brendon (McCullum) are doing that sometimes I don’t think he gets his balance of attack and defence right.”

“He was on 16 off nine balls and he doesn’t normally strike at that rate – he’s normally striking at 75 to 80, which is still incredibly high for a Test match strike-rate, with zero risk. That’s when I love watching Joe Root bat,” said Cook.

England lost the second Test against India as Root failed to deliver and scored 5 and 16 across two innings.

Cook said that Root didn’t look like he was in control as he was trying to score quick runs to match the tempo with other players which backfired for him.

“When he gets in, you call it early – I’ve called it early a few times on sub-continent days: he’s on 15 but he’s getting a hundred here. He’s going to milk them at his will, sweeps, all in control. I don’t think he was in that control,” he added.