IND v ENG 2021: Joe Root says, “Would love to be in England’s T20 squad”; wants to play for a long time

Root has played 32 T20s scoring 823 runs with 5 fifties and SR of 126.30.

England’s Test captain Joe Root is probably one of the best batsmen of this generation and is considered to be a part of the fab four with Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith being the other three.

However, he has been struggling to be an all-format player, with England overlooking him for the T20 format. He was part of England’s 2019 World Cup-winning team and also played in the final of the 2016 T20 World Cup, but his last T20I game came in 2019 for England.

Root, who will be appearing in his 100^th Test match when England plays India in Chennai on February 5, said that will the focus being on England sending their strongest squad to the upcoming T20 World Cup to be played in India, he would love to be part of that squad.

“For me, the most important thing is that England go into that World Cup with the strongest squad and give ourselves the best chance of winning there, and hopefully, I can be a part of that squad,” Root said on BBC’s Test Match Special.

“… And if no then I will be backing those guys because it would be a huge achievement on the back of what we have achieved in the 50 over world cup.”

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The 30-year-old Root has so far scored 893 runs in 32 T20 Internationals with five half-centuries at a strike rate of 126.3.

“Absolutely, I would love to be a part of that World Cup squad, I love playing all three formats, everything is a different challenge. I haven’t had the opportunity to play a huge amount of T20 games in the last few years, but I am also aware of the guys who are playing some amazing cricket, they are brilliant players and fully deserve their chance.

But if I get an opportunity, all I can do is try to score as many runs as I can when it comes to T20 games,” Root said.

Root, who averages almost 50 in Tests, scoring 8429 runs in 99 Tests with 19 centuries, says he is not concerned about statistics at all.

“I have never really been one for numbers, I have been more about winning games and obviously if you are scoring big runs you are helping the team. More important is how many games you can really affect and home many games you can contribute to and help England win. That’s always been my mindset that will always be my mindset.

Of course, at the end of my career, I will probably look at things slightly differently, but for now, all I am concerned about is doing my part for the team and score as many runs as I can,” Root further mentioned.

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He also said that he is inspired by the career longevity of teammates Anderson and Broad and wants to emulate them and play for a long time.

“At the moment, the way I see things is that I want to play as long as possible, I can’t see where it’s going to stop. The way Jimmy and Broady keep going and get better and better, they are an inspiration for someone like me. Hopefully that fire, that drive stays there in me and I can keep going,” he said.  

Root said he seems to have reached 100 Tests “rather quickly.”

“It feels like yesterday, walking around in Nagpur. Hopefully, it’s not the end of the journey, and there is plenty of games to come, and plenty of fantastic memories to make,” he signed off.

(PTI inputs)