Joe Root brushes aside criticism of shot selection: ‘I’ll continue playing the way I do’

Joe Root has copped considerable flak for his shot selection, particularly *that* attempted reverse-scoop that he tried off Jasprit Bumrah in the third Test which saw him dismissed.

The rebuke from analysts and experts back home was stinging, with one writer for a British daily branding the shot “the worst, most stupid, shot in the history of England’s Test cricket”. It was Root’s dismissal that started their decline in the Test: the visitors lost eight wickets for 95 runs in the first innings. They eventually lost the game by 434 runs.

Root, however, insists he has no regrets over his shot selection.

“People will have their own opinions on how I’ve got out through this series and what is best for me,” Root said in a conversation on Sky Sports Cricket Podcast. “I will continue playing the way I think is best for any given situation. No-one knows my game as well as I do. The reason I’ve got to where I’ve got to is because I’ve always looked to keep trying to get better, improve and evolve. That’s got to keep happening. If you stand still in this game, with the amount of information and analysis out there, you’ll get found out. I’m not always going to get it right; I’m going to make the odd mistake.”

WATCH: An overview shot via Google Earth of the scenic Dharamsala stadium

WATCH 📽️

If #cricket stadiums had a beauty pageant, #Dharamsala would be the popular choice to get the Miss World crown. No wonder 5,000 English fans have travelled to the foothills of the Dhauladhar range for the 5th #INDvsENG Test. By Sandeep Dwivedihttps://t.co/zVCyW9rMzw pic.twitter.com/MQi3fcskdL

— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) March 5, 2024

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Root was considerably out of form coming into the fourth IND vs ENG Test, having averaged just 12.83. The Ranchi Test saw him hit some semblance of form, after scoring a first-innings century. His 122, however, was not enough to prevent India from winning the Test and sealing the series.

“I have high expectations of myself and until that last Test match I was way below where I want to be. I felt short of runs, I felt like I’d not contributed how I’d expect myself to and how I wanted to coming into the tour – it’s a part of the world I love batting in and I’ve had previous success here. I tried to just play the game in front of me. I looked at that situation and those conditions there [in Ranchi], and it didn’t need anything flamboyant. It needed someone to be a constant throughout and try to keep a calm feel to things,” he added.

The fifth India vs England Test starts in Dharamsala from Thursday.

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