Are England doing injustice to Test captain Joe Root by resting key players?
England have lost four out of their last five Test matches. While they lost their away Test series by a margin of 1-3 to India earlier this year, what was more shocking was their 0-1 loss at home to New Zealand this month. And, England have a challenging year ahead of them in Test cricket. They will take on India in a five-match Test series in August and September, and they will also take on Australia at the end of the year in The Ashes.
And, a very pertinent question needs to be asked at this juncture. Is the England management doing injustice to Joe Root by resting their key players in Test cricket?
Side-effects of Rotation policy
England have implemented the controversial rotation policy, and this has caught the limelight in recent times. In the first Test against India away from home in February this year, England rested Stuart Broad. And, for the 2nd Test against India, they got back Broad into the side and gave Anderson some ‘rest’.
The matter does not end here. For England’s home Test series against New Zealand, players of the calibre of Chris Woakes, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Jonny Bairstow were rested due to bio bubble fatigue. And, this cost England, as they went down to New Zealand 0-1.
In fact, this is the first time in almost 7 years that England have lost a Test series at home. And surely, when a team is not willing to play their best playing XI in an international Test match against top sides like India and New Zealand, how can they be expected to win?
England have treated selection for this series like premier league teams treat the early stages of the FA Cup rounds … #INDvENG Against the best team in the world !!!!!!!
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 24, 2021
England have some of the best players in the world in their side. They have got two of the greatest fast bowlers of the modern era in James Anderson and Stuart Broad, they have got arguably the greatest all-rounder of the modern era in Ben Stokes, and they have got a world-class batsman in Joe Root.
But then, if the England management simply refuses to field the best XI in a Test match, then that is surely a matter of concern, isn’t it?
Joe Root has given so much to England cricket in his illustrious career, and the least that the England management could do to him is to make sure that the best players are available at Root’s disposal so that he can once again get a hugely talented side like England back to winning ways in the most demanding format of the game.
