It had become a very unhealthy relationship, the captaincy and me: Joe Root

Even though Joe Root was in fine form in 2021, scoring loads and loads of runs for England, his captaincy was always under the scanner. It is because of that, one of the finest English batters also failed to contribute with the bat and that was a big problem for England. After the Sri Lanka series in early 2021, England failed to register any series win and has lost to India, New Zealand, Australia and West Indies ever since. The team had to move to a new direction and just the management appointed Ben Stokes as the Captain of the side and Brendon McCullum to the head coach of England Cricket team. What about Joe Root? After losing his captaincy, can he be the same batter he once used to be? Of course. You can’t keep them calm.

Joe Root was awarded the Man of the Match award for his brilliant hundred in the 2nd innings against New Zealand. It is because of his innings and contribution from Captain Ben Stokes, England has finally registered a test win after months of struggle. The legendary batter has also completed 10,000 runs in test cricket and has openly expressed that his stint as a captain was affecting his batting.

“It had become a very unhealthy relationship to be honest, the captaincy and me. It started to really take a bad toll on my own personal health. I couldn't leave it on the ground any more, it was coming home. It wasn't fair on my family, on people close to me, and it wasn't fair on myself either. I had thrown everything at it and I was determined to help turn this team around but I realised over that time at home that it would have to be in a different way. I'm very excited to do that now and to do everything I can to help Ben [Stokes] really turn this team around and make this team the force it should and can be”, said Root after beating New Zealand by 5 wickets.

The former captain added, “I obviously tried as much as I could, but I think I was unaware of how much it was grabbing hold of me. I just needed to make the decision, and I knew it was the right thing to do. I felt like a big weight had been lifted and I immediately felt a lot better. As hard as it was, obviously it's been a huge privilege and something that I'm extremely proud to have done, but it's time for a new phase in my career. And it's one that I'm very much looking forward to, seeing one of my best mates now take this team forward and start in a way that he has”.

Speaking about scoring 10,000 runs in test cricket, Root said, “That's a great motivator for me moving forward, with the amount of amazing things Ben did for this team under my leadership. It's a great opportunity for me in the next phase of my career to do that for him. It meant a huge amount to get over the line. It was very special to get the hundred and reach 10,000 runs, I can't pretend it wasn't, but nothing replicates winning games of cricket. It meant a huge amount to me, not just personally, but when you walk through the dressing-room or through the Long Room and you're high-fiving the rest of the group, and you can see the genuine joy and elation on their faces. That's the one thing that I've missed the most, I suppose, over the last year and a bit. And one thing I'm really looking forward to seeing a lot more of, hopefully, this summer”.