NEW DELHI: Former England captain Alastair Cook believes that senior batter Joe Root is losing his "balance" and natural game in the current Test series against India because to his desperation to fit into captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum's "Bazball" plans.
Cook, the last international captain to guide a team to win in a Test series in India back in 2012, believes that Root never appeared in control during his brief second innings of 16 off 10 balls in the second Test against India, when he tried to attack every delivery.
England's defeat was by 106 runs, as 'Bazball' was unable to lead the visitors to a formidable 399 target.
"He is England's best batsman there's ever been in all formats - but he does struggle sometimes with the tempo of this Bazball era," Cook, who is England's highest Test run-getter, said on 'TNT Sports' channel.
2nd Test: India beat England to level series
"He sees all these other people playing these aggressive shots, which suit their style. Rooty has got 11,500 Test runs, he's brilliant, but he's so desperate to fit in to what Ben (Stokes) and Brendon (McCullum) are doing that sometimes I don't think he gets his balance of attack and defence right," the owner of 12,472 Test runs said.
Instead of trying to outpace other players who are scoring runs more quickly, Cook wants Root to play at his own pace.
"He was on 16 off nine balls and he doesn't normally strike at that rate - he's normally striking at 75 to 80, which is still incredibly high for a Test match strike-rate, with zero risk.
"That's when I love watching Joe Root bat."
2nd Test: India beat England to level series
Cook believes that Root is always in position to score a hundred runs if he reaches his first fifteen, even though it didn't appear feasible on Monday in Visakhapatnam.
"When he gets in, you call it early - I've called it early a few times on sub-continent days: he's on 15 but he's getting a hundred here.
"He's going to milk them at his will, sweeps, all in control. I don't think he was in that control," he observed.
(With PTI inputs)The TOI Sports Desk excels in a myriad of roles that capture the ...
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