England’s Joe Root speaks with reporters after the match.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Veteran batter Joe Root’s return to 50-over format after more than a year headlined England’s squad announcement for the ODI tour to India and the ICC Champions Trophy.
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Veteran batter Joe Root’s return to 50-over format after more than a year headlined England’s squad announcement for the ODI tour to India and the ICC Champions Trophy.

Root’s previous assignment in the format was the 50-over World Cup held in India in 2023.

All-rounder and Test skipper Ben Stokes was not considered for selection as he has been recovering from a left hamstring injury sustained during the third Test against New Zealand earlier this month.

Seasoned batter Jos Buttler will lead the side, and the Lancashire man will also captain England in the T20I series against India, which precedes the ODIs.

England will play five T20Is and three ODIs during the white ball tour to India.

Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, who made his Test debut against India earlier this year, was included in the T20I squad.

In-form Harry Brook will get another chance to play international bilateral cricket in India after pulling out of the Test series earlier this year due to personal reasons.

England ODI squad

Jos Buttler (Captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood.

England T20I squad

Jos Buttler (Captain), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood.

India vs England Schedule:

Twenty20 Internationals

1st T20I: January 22, Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

2nd T20I: January 25, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

3rd T20I: January 28, Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot.

4th T20I: January 31, MCA Stadium, Pune.

5th T20I: February 2, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

One-Day internationals

1st ODI: February 6, VCA Stadium, Nagpur.

2nd ODI: February 9, Barabati Stadium, Cuttack.

3rd ODI: February 12, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

England’s Joe Root. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Joe Root’s impressive form since resigning as England captain will be put to test in the upcoming series against India and Australia when his skills against pacers and spinners will be “scrutinised”, reckons Australian great Ian Chappell.

With 10 centuries in just 54 innings over the past two and a half years, Root has gone past Sir Alastair Cook as England’s highest Test run-scorer.

“Root’s phenomenal run-making will again be tested when first he faces India at home and then Australia away. In those two series, Root will be facing the best attacks in Test cricket, and his technique against both pace and spin will again be fully scrutinised,” the 81-year-old wrote in his column for ESPNCricinfo.

India are scheduled to tour England for a four-match Test series next summer and the Three Lions will face the challenge to regain the Ashes later next year in Australia.

“Those are difficult challenges that Root and England will face in the future. Currently, they’re desperately involved in a bid to win after Pakistan levelled their three-game series with a spin-revolution victory against a clueless England.”

The Ben Stokes-led side is currently under the pump after Pakistan levelled the three-match series 1-1. The third Test begins on October 24.

“As the most technically gifted, Root will have the task of convincing his fellow team-mates that numerous versions of the sweep shot aren’t the ideal way to combat good spinners. Despite Root’s proven talent, that will be a very difficult task,” he added.

Since his remarkable 73 on debut Test versus England, Root has emerged as the England batting mainstay but he has yet to score a century in Australia.

Chappell feels his vulnerability to being caught behind suggests a need to reassess his approach to extra bounce on Australian pitches.

“Root was born to make runs. He’s a joy to watch, as he balances a solid technique with the desire to score at every opportunity,” Chappell wrote “One of the few anomalies in Root’s record is his failure to score a Test century in Australia despite having played 27 innings there. His last chance to rectify that statistic will likely come in 2025-26, when – barring injury or retirement – he will play another Ashes series.

“It’s not as though Root has performed poorly in Australia, as his average of around 35 is respectable. However, the lack of a century despite making nine scores in excess of 50 is most unlike Root.

“In Australia, the four main bowlers have dismissed Root a number of times and this could be pointed to as a weakness. Nevertheless there’s an easy answer: if you’re going to be dismissed, it’s preferable to get out to a good bowler.

“The more worrying Root statistic in Australia is the number of times he’s been caught behind. Keepers have had a bonanza as ten times they’ve clasped Root’s edges in just 27 innings.

“While he could counter with “you’ve got to be good enough to nick ’em”, it does suggest he needs to re-assess the extra bounce Australian pitches provide,” Chappell added.

England players acknowledge the crowd after winning the first Test against Pakistan in Multan on October 11, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

England’s bowlers, led by spinner Jack Leach, tore through the Pakistan line-up to secure victory in the first Test in Multan on Friday (October 11, 2024) after a record partnership between Harry Brook and Joe Root turned the match on its head.

England’s attack made short work of the last four Pakistan batters on Day 5, dismissing the hosts for 220 to win by an innings and 47 runs and draw first blood in the three-match series.

The win is England’s fourth consecutive Test triumph on Pakistan soil, after a 3-0 whitewash two years ago. England had only won two away Tests against Pakistan in the previous 61 years.

It was also filled with several new milestones for England.

“This win would be right up there. Definitely top three,” said captain Ollie Pope, standing in for injured skipper Ben Stokes.

Brook smashed 317 and Root a record-setting 262 in England’s mammoth 823-7 declared, giving the visitors a 267-run lead and both players their highest Test scores.

Their 454, England’s highest-ever partnership for any wicket in Test cricket, also delivered an improbable advantage after Pakistan amassed an impressive 556 first-innings total.

Pope was full of praise for Brook and Root’s heroics.

“Credit to them for the skills and determination to put the team in a winning position,” he said.

By close of play on the fourth day on a lifeless pitch, England had posted the fourth-highest Test innings total of 823-7 and taken total control of the match with the hosts teetering at 152-6.

Along the way, Root became the highest run scorer for England in Test history.

England’s bowlers then delivered a dagger blow on a lifeless Multan pitch where the first 17 wickets fell for a mammoth 1,379 runs.

Towards the end of the fourth day, Pakistan were reeling at 82-6 before Salman Agha and Aamer Jamal came together for Pakistan’s only meaningful partnership.

The pair added 109 before Leach, who marshalled the attack with 4-30, provided the first breakthrough on the fifth day when he dislodged Salman for a fighting 63 and opened the floodgates.

Leach then took a smart return catch to get Shaheen Shah Afridi for ten and then had Naseem Shah stumped for six, wrapping up Pakistan’s second innings.

Last man Abrar Ahmed was unable to bat after being taken to hospital with a high fever.

“When you come out to bat again and you’re 260 runs behind and the pitch is three days older, it’s never easy,” said Pope of Pakistan’s second-innings predicament.

Pope also lauded the grit shown by England’s inexperienced attack.

“Our bowlers got the odd ball to reverse and spin,” he said of Gus Atkinson who took 2-46 and debutant Brydon Carse who finished with 2-66.

‘Can’t be more disappointing’

The loss continues a painful stretch for Pakistan and will compound the pressure on captain Shan Masood.

His tenure has begun with six consecutive defeats, including three in Australia and two at home at the hands of Bangladesh — the worst start for any Pakistan captain.

“It can’t be more disappointing than this,” said Masood. “Harsh reality is that England found a way to win after two days under the sun and 556 behind.

“Then they batted big and when they came back with the ball they had a plan and created a window of opportunity in the second innings so the harsh reality in Test cricket is no matter what the pitch quality side finds a way to win.”

The hosts have gone 11 Tests without a win on home grounds, their last win against South Africa came in February 2021.

The second Test starts at the same venue from Tuesday while the third is in Rawalpindi from October 24.

Joe Root will go down as England’s greatest batter in Tests even if he is not able to break Sachin Tendulkar’s gargantuan record of 15,921 runs, reckons his former teammate Ian Bell.

Root went past Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara recently to move to the sixth spot in the list of highest run-getters in the longest format.

“He’s played incredibly well in the last 12 months. I don’t think he’s overthinking too much what’s ahead. He’s just sort of living in the moment as we are,” Bell told PTI in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of Legends League Cricket.

“To think that he can even get close to someone like Sachin, a real great of the game, someone that we’ve all admired growing up, as a hero to not just people and fans in India, but around the world.

“To think that Joe could get close is an amazing achievement on his behalf. He’ll go down as England’s greatest batsman. There’s no doubt whether he does get to Sachin or not,” said the 42-year-old who played as many as 118 Tests for England.

With 12,402 runs, the 33-year-old Root is 3,519 runs away from breaking Tendulkar’s record.

Bazball has unlocked talent of current players

Bell feels England’s much talked-about Bazball approach has unlocked talent of the current players.

“From a fan point of view, you have to look at the results. Since Brendon (McCullum) has come into this England side and (Ben) Stokes has took over, the results have been absolutely fantastic.

“What they’ve managed to do with the talent that they have is to unlock some of that…. Zak Crawley’s, Ollie Pope, Harry Brook, they’ve managed to get the best out of them.

“I don’t think you could ask a Crawley or Pope to try and be an Alastair Cook or a Jonathan Trott who played in a different style, but were very successful. It’s important to identify what they’ve got and they’re adapting that as we go on now.”

However, with England not featuring among contenders for the World Test Championship final in the first two editions, Bell said winning away would be as important as at home in the next cycle.

“I’m sure they’ve got one eye on the next 12 months, which has five Test matches (against) India at home, which will be a huge challenge,” he said.

“India are probably the best team in the world at the moment, and then, Australia away. Those 10 Test matches on the road will be hugely important for that group of players and something they’re gearing themselves up for.

“We were the last team to win in India, which was obviously (a) part of the journey to get to No 1 and we won in Australia. For this England side to get to No 1, there’s no doubt, ability and talent-wise, they have that,” he said.

He also stressed on consistency shown by the Indian team which has won 17 series in a row at home and its last two series in Australia.

“That’s what we’ve seen with India at the moment. They’ve managed to be able to win away from home as much as anyone and that’s the reason why they are the No 1 team in the world at the moment.”

Next generation of England players growing up with big T20 diet

Bell agreed while one could argue saying England’s white-ball revolution has also seen diminishing batting averages of the players in Tests barring Root.

“You could definitely have that argument. The next generation of players are growing up with a big diet of T20 cricket in early age and have a look at cricket in England at the moment, there’s a lot of short format cricket in the early age group,” he said.

Himself known for his delightful cover drivers, Bell thinks Virat Kohli plays his favourite shot the best among his peers.

“It’s very hard to look past Virat Kohli, that is for sure. Not just his cover drive, but the way he plays, his desire for batting, his desire actually in competition and how he goes about his cricket.

“When he plays his cover drive, whatever format of the game, it’s a good one to watch. You know, my kids who love cricket, I certainly get them watching as much cricket from Virat Kohli as possible,” he said.

Bell added the likes of Gus Atkinson and Matthew Potts have huge shoes to fill following the retirement of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

“It’s very difficult for any players to come in and emulate straight away what Broad-Anderson have done for England for such a long time,” he said.

“It’s probably very similar to when (Shane) Warne and (Glenn) McGrath finished at the same time for Australia. It took a little bit of time for Australia to adapt and adjust.

“It’s unfair for anyone who’s to follow in those shoes to be seen in the same way. Hopefully people don’t get too hard on them too much,” he added.

Mighty impressed with Ravichandran Ashwin’s range, aggressive mindset and relentless pursuit of wickets, senior England batter Joe Root has said that the veteran Indian off-spinner is a constant threat who hardly believes in the concept of wearing the opposition down.

Ashwin, who recently went past the 500-wicket milestone in the traditional format becoming only the second Indian after Anil Kumble to do so, will play his 100th Test during the fifth match against England, starting on March 7 at Dharamsala.

“Ashwin is always trying to find ways of getting you out rather than trying to wear you down, over long periods of time,” Root said on Sky Sports cricket podcast hosted by former England captains Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain.

Root, who along with his teammates is currently enjoying a break in the series, said the infinite variety that Ashwin has in his bowling keeps the batters guessing.

“He uses creases differently from traditional off-spinners. He uses over-spin, side-spin, can get really tight to the stumps, can go wider and he has got the carrom ball, you know, a lot of different tricks.

“So, you will have to be really wary of different threats that he poses and make sure that you have very good skill sets to counter (him) and be on top of him,” said the ex-England skipper.

Giving an insight into the way Ashwin operates, Root said the Tamil Nadu man often bowls six different deliveries in an over.

“Ashwin is making sure that you don’t play the previous ball. He is very good at trying to drag you across the crease and get your head to one side of it and beat both edges quite frequently,” he said.

Root said Ashwin poses different threats while bowling with new and old balls.

“There are different things to contend with because of his seam position and how cleverly he can move around the shiny side that has got some extra skid.

“So, you have to make sure that you are in position a little bit quicker. He can also drift the ball away and bring the slip fielder into play,” he explained.

Root also offered a comparison between Ashwin and Nathan Lyon, the other premier off-spinner of this generation. The 36-year-old Australian has taken 527 wickets from 128 Tests.

“With Lyon it is all about, I think, especially in the first half of the Test match, to get over the top of the ball, get the bowl bounce, knee roll high, in between and try to bring short leg and leg slip into the game as much as he can.

“Then just slowly, get slower with his pace and drift wider into that. There are those footmarks, you know, Mitchell Starc has so kindly done for him for such a long period of time,” added Root.

England’s much-talked-about ‘Bazball’ approach has not really worked in this series against India, where the visitors are currently trailing 1-3.

But Root said frustration has not seeped into the England camp as yet.

“Don’t think there is too much frustration within the team. Our top order has been far more consistent than it has been for long, long years. But this part of the world can be quite tricky to do that (attacking batting), especially in the second innings.

“But the bigger picture is not about how we can blast ahead but to find the best in our game. There will be times when we need to play a bit pragmatic, but this team does not regret and we need to learn from every opportunity,” he detailed.

Jonny Bairstow, who is set to play his 100th Test in Dharamsala, has struggled with the bat, managing just 170 runs from four Tests and he is yet to score even a fifty.

However, Root backed his fellow Yorkshire man to come good sooner than later.

“I came across him when he was 12 at a Yorkshire scholarship programme with the rest of the boys. He was a superstar even then and had this tough task of living up to the name of his father (former England wicketkeeper David Bairstow).

“But Jonny has always excelled and went from strength to strength. He wears his emotions on his sleeve,” said Root.

England’s Joe Root (left) and teammate Harry Brook. File
| Photo Credit: Ap

Seven players, including Harry Brook, were among 29 England cricketers who were awarded central contracts by the ECB for the first time, while premier all-rounder and Test captain Ben Stokes was given a one-year contract on Tuesday.

The deal pre-dated from October 1 this year also includes a first-of-its-kind multi-year contracts, which were offered to 18 players including Brook, Joe Root and recuperating pacer Jofra Archer.

Apart from Brook, Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue received the contract for the first time.

Pacer Carse on Monday was named as a replacement for injured Reece Topley in England’s squad for the on-going World Cup.

Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket, Rob Key, said: “We are rewarding those players who we expect to make a significant impact over the coming years playing for England.

They will play a pivotal role in England’s efforts over the next few years.”

England’s new multi-year central contracts:

Three-year contract: Joe Root, Mark Wood, Harry Brook.

Two-year contract: Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jonathan Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.

One-year contract: Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Ollie Robinson, Reece Topley.

Developmental contract: Matthew Fisher, Saqib Mahmood, John Turner.

The return of the talismanic Ben Stokes augurs well for champion England at the ICC World Cup set to begin in India next in October.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

England crossed the final hurdle at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 against New Zealand in one of the most exciting cricket matches in history.

A few of England’s big performers from that title-winning campaign — Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood and Adil Rashid — feature in this edition, and will look to recreate the magic. Fast bowler Jofra Archer, the side’s highest-wicket taker in 2019, misses out due to injury.

The omission of Jason Roy has taken up headlines in the build up to the World Cup. Roy, initially slotted to open the batting with Jonny Bairstow, was axed from the final squad to accommodate the form pair of Dawid Malan and Harry Brook. Roy’s case was weakened when a back spasm ruled him out of the ODIs against New Zealand earlier this month.

Bold call on Brook

Malan is likely to take on the new ball with Bairstow, while the malleable Brook will come into the middle-order. With only six ODIs under his belt, Brook may not have experience on his side, but his huge returns in Test cricket and in the Hundred prompted this bold call from the selectors.

All-rounder Ben Stokes, the ‘player-of-the-match’ in the 2019 final, came out of a hiatus to play in this mega event. Stokes had retired from ODIs in July 2022 to stay fit for Tests, but the decision was reversed when he was named in the squad to take on New Zealand. Stokes’ tremendous value was underlined when he smashed a 124-ball 182 in the third ODI.

There are concerns surrounding Root’s poor form. The batter was included in the eleven in the first ODI against Ireland last week, but his wish to get into last-minute rhythm was denied when the outing was washed out. He will now step out to bat at the World Cup hoping that class overrides form.

On paper, England boasts of a strong bowling line-up, led by pacers Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, and leg-spinner Adil Rashid. Rashid’s recent fitness issues, and Wood’s long layoff, however, has called into question their readiness to perform on the biggest stage.

In Sam Curran, Reece Topley and David Willey — all left-arm seamers — reliable back-up is at hand.

The squad: Jos Buttler (Capt.), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, and Chris Woakes.