Root ‘crucial’ for England ahead of CT, says skipper

NAGPUR: Joe Root will play a “crucial role” in India on his ODI return and as they build up to the Champions Trophy this month, England captain Jos Buttler said Wednesday.

The visitors went down 4-1 in the preceding T20 series and now face India in three ODI matches starting with Thursday´s opener in Nagpur. The 34-year-old Root, a top-order batsman and England´s former Test captain, last played an ODI at the 2023 World Cup in India and will now take field as England named their XI on the eve of the match.

“He´ll bat number three,” Buttler told reporters of Root, who was not involved in the T20 series. “He´s one of the great players of the game, so in all the formats here he´s obviously been a vital part of ODI cricket for England for a long time,” he added.

“I´m excited to see him in this sort of phase of his career where he´s done in the Tests, where he´s not had the captaincy, sort of back with that cheeky smile on his face and really enjoying his cricket... he´s got a crucial role for us.”

The India matches come ahead of the Champions Trophy, the premier one-day tournament after the World Cup. It starts on February 19 and is hosted by Pakistan and Dubai.

“Obviously the Champions Trophy is just around the corner so it´s great to play against the top side,” Buttler said. England are known for their aggressive brand of cricket with coach Brendon McCullum and Test skipper Ben Stokes adopting an attacking “Bazball” strategy even in the five-day format.

McCullum is coaching England for the first time in white-ball cricket and wants to bring the same fearless approach. “If I look back at that World Cup, the two teams in the final were playing a really positive and aggressive round of cricket,” Buttler said of the 2023 one-day final, in which Australia beat hosts India. Buttler weighed in on the future of 50-over cricket, which has taken a hit because of the popularity of the T20 format.