Even though Joe Root was not part of the England team in the T20I series against Sri Lanka, which hosts won 3-0, skipper Eoin Morgan said that Root is in their plans for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
Joe Root played a vital role for England in T20 World Cup 2016 as he was the leading run-getter for Eoin Morgan-led side, notching up 273 runs at a strike rate of 146.77. The swashbuckling batsman scored a 36-ball 54 runs in the final but couldn’t help his team clinch the title as they lost to West Indies by four wickets.
England, on Thursday (29th June), defeated Sri Lanka by 5 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the ODI series. In a tricky chase of 186 runs, the home team tumbled at 80/4 but Joe Root held the one end and scored masterful 79 runs to guided his side to a 5 wicket victory.
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Speaking to the media after win in the first ODI against Sri Lanka, England’s white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan said that Joe Root cannot be ruled out of England’s T20 World Cup 2021 squad.
"I think there are a lot of people who are (in contention) and certainly you can't rule Joe out. The role he played in 2016, the runs he scored and the manner in which he scored them as well went a long way towards getting us to the final. His knock in the final as well was outstanding,” Eoin Morgan said.
While lauding Root's knock against Sri Lanka in 1st ODI, Morgan admitted that the busy Test match schedule has not allowed Root to play T20I cricket.
"I think circumstances in the last two years, given how busy the schedule is but also Test matches being a priority, hasn't allowed Joe to play as much T20 as he'd have liked. But he's one of the best in the world in most situations and he showed his class. Even yesterday at training it was notable how easy he found things,” he said.
Eoin Morgan further said that Joe Root does all the basics right and never seems to struggle. He added that it was a joy to watch him see the team home.
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"He just does the basics unbelievably well and never seems to struggle, even though the wicket might have been a little bit two-paced. So it was a joy to watch him see the team home,” he said.
Joe Root has represented England in 32 T20Is and has scored 893 runs at an average and strike rate of 35.72 and 126.31 respectively. England’s Test captain last played T20I in October 2019.
(Sky Sports inputs)
