India vs England: Opting out of IPL was a difficult call: Joe Root.
India vs England: England skipper Joe Root says his decision to opt-out of IPL 2021 auction was a tough call for him for the third consecutive year. He explained he took the call taking into consideration the packed year of national cricket for England and he don’t want to miss out on that.
As many as 292 players will go under the hammer for the coming IPL auction on 18th February and Root’s English counterpart Moeen Ali, Mark Wood and Jason Roy will be the part of it.
“It’s a very difficult decision. I am desperate to be part of an IPL season and hopefully, a few more beyond,” Root said.
England is in the contention of the only spot for the ICC Test Championship Finals at Lords later this year and they have won the first game out of four at Chennai. They need two more wins from three games to seal the spot for Finals.
“With the amount of Test cricket, in particular, this year, didn’t feel like it was the right time, didn’t feel like I could throw all my energy into it, which I think it deserves.
“I don’t think it would serve English cricket best with what’s to come… So, a very difficult decision. Hopefully next year, there’s more of an opportunity to potentially be a part of the IPL, or at least be in the auction.”
Root also talked about the challenges for the second test against India.
“We are in a good position, 1-0 and will take the momentum forward. There is going to be some challenges as the surface will offer more movement.”
England will be happy to take on India with one game in their favour. Both the sides for the second test at Chennai have made changes to rest the key players and keep them fresh for the coming games.
India playing 11 for the second test:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj.
England playing 11 for the second test:
Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Daniel Lawrence, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wk), Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach, Olly Stone.
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