"It was difficult..."- Joe Root opens up on returning to test team after leaving captaincy

Joe Root captained England in test cricket from 2017 to 2022.

England Cricket Team are all set to host Indian Cricket Team in a five-match test series starting June 20 with the opening game at Headingley, Leeds. Ben Stokes will lead England in the series against a young Indian team led by new test skipper Shubman Gill. Joe Root is a crucial batsman for England in the series.

Last month, Joe Root became the first England batsman and fifth overall to reach 13,000 runs in test cricket. The right-handed batsman is also the top-ranked batsman in the ICC’s test rankings. Notably, Root is the former test skipper of England, who led the side for five years before Ben Stokes was nominated as the captain in 2022.

Root had the reins of England in tests from 2017 to 2022 and led the side in 64 matches. Under his leadership, England won 27 matches and lost 26 games, while 11 ended in draws. He resigned from captaincy in April 2022 after a series loss to the West Indies.

It was difficult and weird coming back: Joe Root

During a chat on Sky Sports, Joe Root opened up on returning to the test team after leaving captaincy. The 34-year-old revealed that it was difficult and weird, however, he wanted to support new skipper Stokes.

“Ben (Stokes) did so much for me as my vice-captain, now it’s my turn to give a bit back to him. It was difficult and weird coming back into the team after being a 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,” he said.

“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,” he further added.

Root also feels that Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum have done a fabulous job for the test team over the last few years.

“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,” he further added.

Meanwhile, England will commence their journey in ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 with the test series against India. Although England have been a dominating side in the longest format of the game in recent years, they have failed to reach the finals of the previous three ICC WTC cycles.

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