In an exclusive interview to JioCinema, recorded before the second Test in Visakhapatnam, Joe Root spoke about England’s generation next, his team’s strong belief in Bazball and how the visitors would like to keep India’s best batters in check.
On watching England’s next generation come through
It’s great and that’s all part and parcel of the game. If you play Test cricket for long periods of time, you’re going to see players leave the group and see young guys come in. The more you play, the more responsibility you have for trying to create a really enjoyable environment and one that allows them to thrive and feel as comfortable and as confident as possible. These young guys come in and I really feel they belong on this stage and have a purpose within the team.
On whether England doubted their Bazball ability after the first innings of the first Test
No. Regardless, of the result of the game, we’re always going to play how we know. It’s what’s given us success for a good period of time now.
It’s what brings thebest out of us. We’ve been in similar situations before. The last time we played India in England, in that one-off Test, we were miles behind in the game and we managed to chase that score down. There have been numerous other occasions where we’ve done things that we never thought we could have done before. So, we’ll never stop believing, we’ll never feel like we’re out of the game.
On Ollie Pope’s knock boosting the team’s confidence in Hyderabad
Ollie went out and probably played one of the best overseas innings you’ll see in these conditions, especially against that attack on that surface.