Despite England’s recent series loss to the West Indies, Joe Root has stated that he intends to remain captain. England lost the third Test in Grenada by ten wickets on Sunday (March 27), continuing a terrible run in which they have won only one and lost eleven of their last seventeen matches.
England has lost four series in the last five rubbers under Root. The last time England played India, they were trailing 2-1 before the final Test was called off last summer. This man is adamant about the remaining captain, despite the fact that his team’s recent poor performance has prompted calls for his replacement.
Root told BT Sport at the start of the game and throughout the tour that he was “very passionate” about trying to move this team forward. “It’s never completely in your hands, in my opinion, but I believe the group is completely behind me. Our team is doing a lot of fantastic work. That only leaves us with one task: putting those ideas into action.”
Root may be forced to resign from his position. Root could be relieved of his captaincy before England’s next Test against New Zealand in June, pending the appointment of a new Director of Cricket and head coach. If that’s the case, the Yorkshireman’s problem will be that he doesn’t have any good options.
It was Root’s contention that England’s batting lineup, which had frequently been the source of the team’s failures in recent years, had improved during the series. England was bowled out for eight runs on the third day in Grenada. Despite this, England suffered three batting collapses in six innings over the course of the series.
“There is frustration because I think we played some really good cricket,” Root said in the immediate aftermath of the series’ conclusion. “In my opinion, we’ve demonstrated what we’re capable of as a team. I believe we made significant strides as a batting group in the first two games, but then we fell apart yesterday.
“Because of our incompetence, a crucial day in the series went awry. Finally, we’ve lost a series in which we’ve played some of our best cricket.”
According to Root, the tour was beneficial for England in terms of getting to know new players such as Saqib Mahmood and Alex Lees. He also noted the team’s improved attitude. “Overall, I was taken aback by the overall demeanour. We’ve come a long way in that regard, but we must continue to progress “Root made the following statement.
“This experience has the potential to yield a plethora of positive outcomes. Even though we had hoped to win, the fact that we did not is frustrating and disappointing. That approach is required if we are to continue learning and growing as a team and if we are to begin winning.
“We need to keep doing what we did so well in the first few games and portions of this one. We’ve learned a lot about some new players, and two of our newcomers have impressed us. They’re only getting started, which is exciting. Things will be taken away from it, but for the time being, it’s a little frustrating.”
