ENG vs IND 2018: Joe Root likely to maintain his T20I spot ahead of the upcoming series against India

The tour starts with the first T20I on July 3.

Joe Root (L) and Ben Stokes (R) | Source PTI

Interim England coach, Paul Farbrace has said that  Joe Root is likely to maintain his spot in England's T20I side ahead of India's upcoming series.

Ben Stokes is all set to make a national return from a hamstring injury he suffered against Pakistan in the month of June. On July 5, he will play for Durham in their T20 clash against Yorkshire. In the match, Ben Stokes will play the role of batsman only with a view to playing in the second T20 and the final.

Alex Hales who was in tremendous form against Australia in the ODI series will be definitely playing against India in their upcoming series.

Paul Farbrace still believes there is a place for Joe Root in the T20 team if Ben Stokes joins the team, he added "Absolutely. You need your best batsman," insisted Farbrace. "I can't believe anybody else in our set-up would argue against that."

"He (Root) is world-class in all forms of the game. You do need nous, and you do need people playing in different ways.

"There will be times when he is the outstanding player in a T20 game and gets us over the line.

"The best players adapt and score runs, whether it is 20 overs or 50 overs or Test match cricket, and he is without doubt one of the finest players in the world.

"He could go anywhere from three to six - and it is nice having that flexibility and that cool, calm head."

Meanwhile, stand-in coach, Paul Farbrace is also keen to have Ben Stokes in the team, he added  "Ben -- the fact he is a three-in-one, he can bowl and he is the best fielder -- you are going to bring him in as soon as he is available."

"Jos played magnificently well... (but) you could easily argue a couple of others could have had a go - and maybe Halesy walked to the crease with a bit of a point to prove."

"You are going to go with the captain pretty much every time, because he takes the team on to the field," said Farbrace.

"There are not going to be any violent disagreements. But we were sitting chatting about the possibilities -- and it is not obvious." Farbrace concluded.

India will play 3T20Is, 3 ODIs and 5 Test matches against England in a two-month long tour.   It will be interesting to see how Virat Kohli and co. play against the number 1 ODI team and the Test matches thereafter. 

(Inputs from Cricketnext)

 
 

By Kunal Kataria - 29 Jun, 2018

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