Joe Root, England skipper has come under the scanner after England’s capitulation against India at Lord’s, with Australian legend Ian Chappell saying that Joe Root is not the first guy to captain England. England had the 2nd Lord’s Test under control at one stage on day 5 with Rishabh Pant back in the hut. After that, Joe Root’s England deployed a strange tactic of unleashing a barrage of bouncers against India’s tail instead of targeting their wickets.

Resuming from 181-6, leading by only 154 runs, India was soon reduced to 209-8, losing both their overnight batsmen in the form of Rishabh Pant and Ishant Sharma before the pair of Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah’s partnership changed the course of the match, tilting it in favour of India.

Joe Root Isn’t The Right Man To Be England Skipper As He Loses The Plot: Ian Chappell

Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah negated the bouncers easily and added a record 89 runs for the ninth wicket to post a target of 272 which was enough for the visitors to seal a win. Speaking to Wide World of Sports, Ian Chappell raised concerns about Joe Root’s leadership skills with the Ashes to follow later this year.

“He just loses the plot,” Ian Chappell said. “His main problem is he doesn’t have a feel for the situation. England have got themselves in a corner, because somebody should have realised a while ago that Joe isn’t the right guy, especially against the better teams.”

Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah leave the field after putting India in front © Getty Images

He further added: “What are you going to do? Change captain on the eve of an Ashes series? That’s not a good idea. But by picking him as captain, you’re giving yourself very little chance of winning.”

Ever since he took over the job from Alastair Cook in 2017, Joe Root has led England in 54 matches and has won 26 out of them with a winning percentage of 48.14. England lost the plot with their bowling strategies against Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami in the first session on Day 5.

Mohammed Shami hit a fifty and Jasprit Bumrah hanged around for a solid unbeaten 34 as the two tail-enders added unbeaten 89 runs for the 9th wicket. India then returned to the field with their pacers charged up. After picking up 2 wickets early, India went on to bowl England out for 120 in less than 52 overs to go 1-0 up in the 5-match series.

Ian Chappell: England Has Got Serious Problems Now

Ian Chappell, who led Australia in 30 Tests, stressed that England has a lot of questions to answer before they tour Australia for the all-important Ashes.

“They’ve got serious problems now, because they’ve let the situation deteriorate, to the point where they have to make changes at a time when you don’t want to be making changes,” Ian Chappell said.

Ian Chappell. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

“At this point, they really want to be settled against India leading into the Ashes. But they’re anything but settled,” he added.

The five-match Ashes 2021 starts on December 8 with England and Australia locking horns at the Gabba.

The opening combination of Rory Burns and Dominic Sibley has failed repeatedly and may be changed for the 3rd Test, which begins on 25th August. The top three especially have been under fire since the start of this year. England already dropped Zak Crawley from the XI after his string of low scores.

Haseeb Hameed was brought back into the England XI after almost five years, but even he looked tentative at Lord’s. He made a golden duck and a patient 45-ball 9 in the first and second innings respectively. Dawid Malan and James Vince, both of whose last Test came in 2018, are both under serious consideration to fill the opener’s spot for the third Test.