Joe Root reveals his Indian T20 League plans
Joe Root (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images)
England captain Joe Root has revealed that he is thought about going under the hammer in the upcoming mega auctions for the Indian T20 League. Over the years, Root has ignored the cash-rich league and prioritized Test cricket. However, he is now mulling over getting a taste of the T20 extravaganza.
Root, however, confirmed that he will only put his name in the hat when he is completely sure that participating in the IPL will now affect his Test game. England are going through a torrid time in Australia where they have failed to win a single Ashes Test. This is created a huge uproar in England and there are reports that ECB may barre England players from participating in the T20 League.
“The thing I will weigh up is: will it have a negative impact on me playing Test cricket for this team? If I don’t think it will, then I will put myself in that position to play and put myself in the auction.
“But I will never compromise or do anything that will detract from playing Test cricket for England. It is so important to make sure that is the priority for me and other players as well.”
Root’s confirmation comes a day after Mitchell Starc also expressed his wish to return to the T20 League. Like Root, Starc has also prioritised International cricket and has not played the IPL since 2015. He returned to the league in 2018 but couldn’t play a game due to injury.
“I’ve got two days to get my paperwork in, so that might be something to do today before training. I’ve not put my name down just yet, but I’ve got a couple more days to decide on that. It’s certainly on the table regardless of what the schedule has got coming up,” said Mitchell Starc as quoted by cricket.com.au
“I haven’t been for six years or so. Obviously, with a heavy weighting towards T20s over the last period of time and the World Cup coming up later this year, that’s one to take into consideration as well. There’s a bit going on with scheduling and what-not to get our heads around, certainly for us multi-format players,” he added.
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 has raised doubts over the tournament being played in India. The country is seeing a massive spike in COVID-19 cases which has forced the BCCI to think about alternative venues, including South Africa.
