Jonny Bairstow opened up on England missing the service of their star batsman Joe Root, saying any side in the world would miss him.
England opener Jonny Bairstow on Wednesday said that any side in the world would miss not having Joe Root after England suffered a 66-run defeat against India in the opening ODI of the 3-match series.
Jonny Bairstow: England Needs To Adapt When Joe Root Isn’t Around
Notably, Joe Root has been rested in the limited-overs series after having led the England Test side on tours of Sri Lanka and India. Joe Root is an integral part of England’s ODI set-up and has 16 centuries and an average of 50.10 in the format.
“If Joe isn’t around we need to be good enough to adapt. We are good enough as a team, as a batting unit, to get over the line. We didn’t and that will have hurt the guys. It’s not as easy as just turning up and playing cricket,” Jonny Bairstow said.
“You’ve got a lot of different aspects to take into account; living on a certain floor of the hotel all the time, not being able to leave the hotel to go for a walk or have your own spaces, to nip to the coffee shop or go for that hour of exercise you get in England.”
“Coupled with being away from families, it’s tough. That break that people have been getting at certain points in the winter has been important for people’s mental and physical health because we all know the amount of cricket that is coming up, ” Jonny Bairstow added.
Jonny Bairstow top-scored with 94 in the 1st ODI after amassing 118 runs in 5 T20Is averaging 39.33. But his prowess with the bat went in vain as India won the 1st ODI by 66 runs after winning the Test series 3-1 and T20I series 3-2.
But Shreyas Iyer, Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma, England captain Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings were injured. Eoin Morgan, who leads KKR, split the webbing between his right thumb and index finger while fielding and needed four stitches. Sam Billings sprained his collar bone when making a dive to stop a boundary.
Joe Root Is A World Class Batsman And His Role Is Of Importance, So There’s A Massive Hole In His Absence: Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan was also asked for his opinion if England was missing the service of their star batsman Joe Root. Eoin Morgan said the Test captain’s absence leaves a “massive hole’.
“Joe is world-class, particularly at number three spot for us. His role is such an important one for us. Him missing out leaves a massive hole, but he needs rest and he needs to spend time with his family.”
Test skipper Joe Root has been rested for the ODI series along with injury-prone Jofra Archer. Joe Root leads England in the longest format of the game, with England’s form improving in Test cricket over the past few years.
The right-handed Joe Root has expressed his desire to play in the IPL but had opted out of the IPL 2021 auction owing to the busy cricketing schedule of the England team where the Three Lions are expected to play 17 Tests, 12 ODIs, and over 20 T20Is.
Joe Root amassed the maximum runs in the 4 match Test series against India which his team lost 3-1 by notching up 368 runs averaging 46. He was instrumental in the 1st Test which England won after he scored 218 and 40 in the two innings. He continued his form in the Test series after his outstanding performance in Sri Lanka where he managed to score 426 runs in 2 Tests averaging 106.5.