England team’s Test captain Joe Root is one of the leading batsmen in world cricket with over 7800 runs in 97 Tests and just shy of 6,000 runs in 146 ODIs. However, his success in these two formats has not been enough to guarantee him a place in the T20I side.
Root has played 32 T20I for England, making 893 runs with 5 fifties to his name. He averages 35.72 and has a strike rate of 126.30. This includes a brilliant inning against South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2016 when England chased down a target of 230 runs in 20 overs.
Now the premier batsman has said that he is ready to do anything in order to cement his place in the T20I side, given the remaining three of the ‘fab four’, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson are permanent members in all formats for their teams.
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"I'm not giving up on it at all, but I'm quite realistic in terms of where I am within the shake-up of things at the moment. I want England to do well. I want us to go to World Cups and win. If I'm not in the best eleven or the best squad, so be it," Yorkshire cricket's official website quoted Root.
He wants to break into the England team for the T20 World Cup 2021 to be played in India.
"I'll support whoever's involved all the way through. I know how hard selection is, and if there are better options than me that’s part of international sport. I'm fully aware of that. But I'll certainly do everything I can with the limited opportunities I will have to force a case," he added.
Root is uncertain about how his T20 career will pan out from here but said that he will grab any opportunity he will get.
"I don't really know. I just want to play as much as I can. It all depends on what opportunities arise and where gaps come within the Test and one-day formats. If there are chances to play, I'll try and get back to Yorkshire," he said.
Joe Root has been part of Vitality T20 blast and apart from this, has played for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League down under. He had also put his name in the IPL 2018 auction, but failed to get a bid. Talking about the same, Root conceded that not playing constantly in the format, make it hard for him to market his abilities better.
"Depending on the international schedule and when there will be breaks, if there’s another franchise opportunity down the line I might look at going in. But if you're not playing the format, it's very hard to put yourself in that shop window," Root added.
(ANI inputs)
