Joe Root finally sets himself available for IPL, says it can help his Career
After going unsold in 2018 auctions with a base price of Rs 1.5 crore, England’s former captain, their most outstanding batsman of long format and certainly most prolific batsman of this era, Joe Root, has expressed his desire to play the next edition of one of the best leagues in the world, Indian Premier League, irrespective of any franchise or salary.
“I would certainly debate going into the IPL draw quite seriously and hope to get exposure in that tournament.” Ex-English Test Captain said in an interview with the famous British news agency Daily Mail.
“It would be great to get involved in the continuous enormity of each game and how much it means.” He further said.
“If anything, I feel a little more freedom with my time. I always used to get rested for the T20s, and I feel alienated from the format because I had not played enough of it.”
“You can feel like you are getting left behind a little bit. Now, the next couple of years might be a good time to explore playing a little bit more of that format and see how far I can take that side of my game,” Root Concluded.
It is worth mentioning that the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 Auction is set to take place on 23rd December in Kochi.
Root’s timing of expressing his desire is correct and understandable, as he stepped down from England’s Test captaincy in April this year after a 5-year stint which was a significant factor restricting him from playing the shortest format of cricket.
His T20I career isn’t as brilliant as his other two formats. Still, it’s a decent one and includes some great knocks at the biggest stage and times when his side needed it, with the most famous being the one he played (44-ball 83) against South Africa in the 2016 T20I World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium.
With an average of 35.72 at a strike rate of 126.3, he has scored 893 runs (including five half-centuries) in 32 T20I games in which he has represented Three Lions, making his last appearance in May 2019 in a bilateral series against Pakistan, scoring a 42-ball 47. Moreover, he recently played in England’s T20 Blast. He also has one-season experience with the BBL side Sydney Thunders (2018-19).
Another worthy thing to mention here is the bowling ability of the prolific batters, which can prove a healthy bonus for the team that signs the Yorkshire player as the spinning wickets of the sub-continent favours Root’s part-time bowling. His bowling record is 6 for 139 off 14 overs with an average of 23.16.
Due to the upcoming test series against Pakistan (set to start on December 1), he wasn’t included in England’s ODI squad against Australia, which concluded yesterday in favour of host Australia by 3-0.
With more free time on his calendar, it would be good for Root to evolve his craft in a different condition. It will be an excellent chance for every cricket fan to witness one of the greatest batsman of this sport in another format.
Several former and current players also playing in the league, and former national team managers are now managing the IPL clubs (current coach of Punjab Kings, Trevor Bayliss, managed the English team from 2015-19 while Andy Flower, Lucknow Super Giants coach, has also worked with Root in the past), Root’s chances to get feature in this auction are higher.
Joe Root finally sets himself available for IPL, says it can help his Career
