Joe Root backs Shubman Gill's India to challenge England despite Kohli-Rohit absence

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England batter Joe Root has said that India remain a strong team despite the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Root praised India's balanced squad ahead of the five-match Test series starting in Leeds on 20 June. read more
Leeds: The void left by the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma notwithstanding, England's top batter Joe Root feels the touring Indian side have got 'all their bases covered' for the upcoming Test series, an opinion that contrasts with the views of some of his compatriots.
The two sides will feature in a five-match Test series starting at Headingley from Friday.
In the absence of Rohit and Kohli, who have announced their retirements from Test cricket last month, Shubman Gill will lead the team, which is a mix of youth and experience.
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'You can only be excited. These are the series you play for. The opportunities in front of us are epic,' Root, 34, told Sky Sports commentator and former team-mate Stuart Broad on Wednesday.
'You know The Ashes is coming and you will be asked about it. People will be trying to relate stuff in the India series to that but you have a job to do against a brilliant team.
'You look at India's progression as a team across all formats and they have all bases covered - great seam attack, talented batters and a very strong spin attack.
'They are going to compete anywhere in the world but our record at home makes for a fantastic series. We will go into it with confidence but also with a huge amount of respect for what they will bring,' Root added.
With just over 13000 runs in the traditional format, Root has already cemented his place among the greats of the game, and he will look to add to his tally in the upcoming matches against India and Australia.
Of his current tally of 13,006 runs, the Yorkshireman has scored 3,117 of them in the three years since he was replaced as captain by Ben Stokes.
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Root has averaged 56.67 during what he describes as the most enjoyable period of his career.
'Ben did so much for me as my vice-captain, now it's my turn to give a bit back to him,' he said.
'It was difficult and weird coming back into the team after being leader. I didn't want to get in Ben's way or step on his toes but I wanted him to know I was there to support him.
'I knew a big part of that was scoring runs. I wanted to make sure I could affect games with the bat and clearly if I was following his lead as a former captain it sends a strong message to anyone coming into the team or not as established as myself.
'It has become the most fun time of my career. Playing the way we play, the environment that has been created. The job Ben and (head coach) Brendon (McCullum) have done has been fabulous and so much fun has come with it.' Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott has urged the English players to rein in their Bazball style of batting and apply common sense, but Root said Bazball is the right way to describe it.
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'It might not always get reported how it actually is - I don't think Bazball is the right way to describe it. It has clearly been a big change and is different to how a lot of teams play but there is a lot more method to it than is probably perceived,' he said.