England Test skipper Joe Root has said that he hopes that the controversial rest-and-rotation policy can be kept behind. England is slated to lock horns against India in a five-match Test series beginning August.
The rest and rotation policy came under severe scrunity earlier this year during the series against India and New Zealand.
After the five-match Test series against India, England will lock horns against Australia in the Ashes later this year, beginning December 8. “We are coming into a period of time now where rest and rotation is put behind us. Hopefully, if everyone is fit, we are going to have our best team available for what is to follow. That’s really exciting and something I’m very much looking forward to,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Root as saying.
“We have ten very hard Test matches against two brilliant opposition coming up but it is a great opportunity for us to play some strong cricket and if everyone is fit and available we will have a good team ourselves,” he added. Root also said that he hopes to field the best possible XI in the series against India and Australia. He also revealed that it hurt him to see England not making the finals of World Test Championship (WTC).
“I’d like to think that, over the next five Test matches, we’ll be trying to play our strongest side or have our strongest squad available for those games. This is, I suppose, what you do it for: to ready yourself for this lead-in and for in particular that Ashes. To make sure everyone’s peaking for that, and these big games,” said Root. “Watching the WTC final and not being part of it, it makes you want to be a part of something quite special like that. We have an opportunity now to go a bit further and better than we did the first time out. I’m looking forward to hopefully starting well with a full squad of players to pick from,” he added.
It is being said that England players would not be allowed to take their families during the Ashes tour. However, England board has requested Cricket Australia to make the change. “I really hope the families will be in Australia. It’s a really important aspect of that tour. With the amount of cricket that we’ve got it’s going to be really important that that is the case. I can’t give you an answer. It’s not something I know as fact or not as yet, but I’m very hopeful that will be the case,” said Root. (ANI)
