Root should abandon ‘baseball’ approach after disastrous outing in Rajkot: Ian Chappell

New Delhi (Uttam Hindu News): Former Australia Test captain Ian Chappell believes Joe Root should abandon the ‘baseball’ approach and “play his natural game” after being dismissed on a reverse ramp shot in the third Test.

Root’s struggles were particularly highlighted in England’s crushing 434-run defeat to India in the third Test – their biggest defeat in terms of runs since 1934.

On the third day of the third Test, England’s score was 224–2, with Ben Duckett batting on 141, Root, batting on 18, was caught straight to second slip off the reverse ramp in the 40th over. His dismissal led to the collapse of England, who went from 207–2 to 319 all out, giving India a lead of 126 runs.

Chappell emphasized Root’s skill when playing his natural game and suggested that attempting to adopt a radical change in approach was unnecessary.

Chappell told Nine Wide, “Root had a very good record playing normally and he was a quick scorer even when playing normally. I don’t understand why he is trying to change things so quickly and I never believed that you should play pre-planned shots.”

Root’s recent statistics do not paint a good picture, especially compared to his excellent form before Brendon McCullum’s tenure. Root averages 50.12 since taking over from Brendon McCullum – slightly higher than his career average of 49.32.

Chappell underlined the importance of playing according to the conditions and the bowlers, acknowledging that aggression must be tempered by situational awareness.

“You can’t always do that – it has to be according to the conditions and also who is bowling. On some bowlers you can score runs much quicker than others, but when a really good bowler is bowling a good spell, you have to be prepared to try and fight it and think to yourself ‘Okay, when If he goes away, it will become a little easier.

“You are always trying to score runs – that is your main objective. But, you also have to realize that in certain circumstances, against certain bowlers you can score runs faster than others.”

This was not the first time that Root had been out by playing switch hits. He had attempted a similar shot against Netherlands in the ODI World Cup last year. But England coach Brendon McCullum has backed Root to continue trying to take the game forward.