Former England skipper Joe Root is looking to bounce back into form during the second Test in Visakhapatnam. With a 1-0 lead in the series, England are in a strong position going into the next match.
Jack Leach is set to miss the Visakhapatnam game due to injury. Shoaib Bashir has been confirmed to make his debut during the game. The young spin bowler had gone back home after his inability to procure a visa.
KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja are also out of the game after suffering injuries in Hyderabad. India might decide to go into the game with four spin bowlers. Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel will lead the Indian bowling attack.
Joe Root turns up in a different avatar ahead of Vizag Test –
To counter the Indian spin threat, former England skipper Joe Root is adopting a different strategy. The 33-year-old could be seen sweating it out in the nets session on Wednesday.
Watch the video here:
Joe Root setting up as a left-hander at England training in Vizag pic.twitter.com/GmabemPrY7
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) January 31, 2024
Joe Root was seen batting left-handed and even played a crisp shot. This is not the first time the Englishman has batted left-handed. During the tour of Pakistan, Root had played with a southpaw stance.
Meanwhile, England skipper Ben Stokes had spoken highly of his former CSK skipper and coach duo of Fleming and Dhoni. The 32-year-old will not be taking part in the IPL this year as he wants to focus on international cricket.
Speaking to Jio Cinema said “You say we ended up winning, that’s how I got the TFC Award, the ‘Thanks For Coming’ award. Obviously, it didn’t quite go how I wanted it to with the injury and stuff like that. But just being part of an unbelievable franchise like Chennai. I’ve worked with Fleming and MS Dhoni before when I was playing in Pune”
English skipper also said “Think how MS and Fleming complemented each other was something to behold. The trust that they have in the decisions they make, one as a coach and one as a captain. MS has the emotion of being out in the game, whereas sometimes when you’re sitting on the sideline, you don’t have that emotion,”
