Joe Root wants to play all the three formats equally; disappointed with IPL snub

Joe Root, along with Hashim Amla were the only two marquee players to go unsold in IPL 2018 auction.

Joe Root | Getty

Joe Root had put his name in for the IPL 2018 auction for the first time and was looking forward to take part in the cash rich league. However, no franchise bid for Root, as he has not played the shortest format a lot since the 2016 World T20 and scheduling problems.

I was disappointed,” Root said to the Guardian. “The reason I wanted to go out there was to play more Twenty20 cricket; it wasn’t to go and earn as much money as possible. I’m not in that position.

Root continued, “For me, I wasn’t going to fit into any one of those [IPL] teams. There’s not really much you can do. It was disappointing but it’s also very understandable. Sides have a clear idea of what they want their makeup of their team to look like and they build around that.

You’ve just got to get on with the rest of the cricket I can play. It gives me a really good period to make sure everything is set for the start of the Test season back at home but it would have been really nice to have had the experience and everything that the IPL brings to the table,” said Root about the IPL snub.

Root admitted that playing just 5 T20Is since the World T20 2016 and three T20 Blast matches for Yorkshire; hampered his chances in the IPL 2018 auction.

Root said, “It’s completely out of my control. The amount of Twenty20 cricket I’m available to play at the moment is minimal and there’s a World T20 in a couple of years’ time. I thought it would be a great opportunity to get some good experience in a fantastic tournament.

Root decided to miss the Trans-Tasman tri-series in order to make himself fit for the nine Tests at home, the tours to Sri Lanka and West Indies and then the 2019 World Cup and Ashes.

There’s a deeper issue that needs sorting out in terms of making it easier to play all three formats and making sure there is an opportunity for guys to go and play in tournaments around the world and still be able to play red‑ball cricket. To criticise the players is wrong. You’ve got to make it more attractive to go and play red-ball cricket somehow,” Root said about Adil Rashid and Alex Hales opting out of first class cricket for their respective counties.

Root will arrive in Hamilton on Friday to prepare for the first Test against New Zealand in Auckland on 22nd March.

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 06 Mar, 2018

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