England’s Test captain Joe Root, who led the team to two home series wins against West Indies and Pakistan this summer, was omitted from the T20I squad that will face Australia. Root, however, has been included in the ODI squad. Australia are touring England for three T20I matches, starting September 4, and as many ODIs, commencing on September 11.
In this regard, Australian mainstay Steve Smith has admitted that he was surprised to see Root not getting a spot in the T20I squad. Smith believes Root is a terrific player who should’ve made it to the T20Is against Australia.
“It’s a surprise. Joe is a terrific player across all formats of the game. I guess England are opting for all-out power and are continuing to go that way. Everyone’s got different game-plans and different ways to go. If everyone played the same it would be a pretty boring game. There’s a few ways to skin a cat and ours might be a little bit different to England’s, which might be a little bit different to India’s,” Smith told the PA news agency.
“That’s the route they’ve taken for now, but I guess we’ll concentrate on the way we go about our business.”
In fact, Root – with 556 runs in the 2019 World Cup- last played a T20I for England in May last year and hasn’t played the shortest format since.
“I know my role within this team. It’s important every player has a role to play and understands the way they play their best. I know if I’m batting with someone like Glenn Maxwell or Aaron Finch my role is to get them on strike and let them smack it. For me it’s about hitting gaps, sort of playing an anchor role and fixing things up if the big boys don’t get out there and smack it. We all know our roles and I’m comfortable with mine,” he added.
“You’ve got to keep refining and keeping up with the new skills. You’ve just got to keep getting better. But I don’t think there’s a reason why players can’t be quality across all formats.”
