The acclaimed red-ball specialist, Joe Root is pondering over his likeness to enter the latest edition of IPL. The former English test captain is yet to make an appearance in one of the biggest cricket tournaments. Joe Root passed on his captaincy baton to Ben Stokes just this year. And now that he is in the league of runs again, Root is overseeing a possibility of entering IPL finally.
2022 has been great for Root who reached 10,000 runs in the Test format. A lot of it had to do with Root putting the captaincy pressure off his head. Post that, Root along with Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have caused England to conquer new heights in Test cricket. The current timeline seems like the golden era of English cricket with both the ODI and T20 World Cup in their laps. And at a time when English players like Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone are all the rage in IPL, Root seems fitting to take part in the league.
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Joe Root Open to the Idea of Joining IPL 2024
Leaning towards the idea, Root said, “I would certainly debate going into the IPL draw quite seriously and hope to get exposure in that tournament. It would be great to get involved in the continuous enormity of each game and how much it means.” Incidentally, IPL 2024 mini-auction is set to go on the floor on the 23rd of December this year. The 10 teams have announced their retentions for the oncoming season. And the sides will subsequently take the final shape with their bids in the auction. Moreover, Ben Stokes is also expected to put in his name for the auction. And Sam Curran is another strong contender in the list, returning to the leave after an injury-laden hiatus. The all-rounder will surely be picked expensively in the auction owing to his latest performance in the World Cup.
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IPL a Chance to Revive Root’s T20 Career?
Notably, Joe Root, despite being the finest of England in Tests isn’t a part of the shortest-format team. Root is yet to make a return in the national side for the T20 format post-2019. And giving IPL a try is his move to polish his skills for the shortest-format of the gentlemen’s game. “I have no thoughts or feelings of retirement or slowing down or playing fewer formats,” Root said.
“If anything, I feel a little bit more freedom with my time. I always used to get rested for the T20s and I feel like I got alienated from the format because I had not played enough of it.” You can feel like you are getting left behind a little bit. Now, the next couple of years, might be a good time to explore playing a little bit more of that format and see how far I can take that side of my game,” he concluded.
