India vs England 2021: Young Indian Players Can Learn A Lot From Joe Root How To Play Spin- Gautam Gambhir

Former India cricketer, Gautam Gambhir lavished praise on Joe Root after the English skipper continues his freakish form with the bat in 2021. Root slammed his 5th double hundred – second in three Tests – on Saturday against India in Chennai.

The right-hander is coming off a fantastic series against Sri Lanka where he scored a double hundred and a hundred in 2 Tests clean sweeping the Lankans under the pile of his runs.

Gautam Gambhir points out that the conditions in Sri Lanka were really difficult to bat – hot weather and the pitch in Galle taking a turn from the first session – and the same was in Chennai; although the pitch was good for batting, it is challenging for overseas players to play in the heat and humidity of Chennai.

“When you are playing in that kind of heat, Sri Lanka is not an easy place to get those big hundreds, Chennai is not that easy place even if we are in February right now. But it’s never easy in Chennai. Look at the concentration level that goes along with skill,” Gautam Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo.

Joe Root is a prime example for youngsters: Gautam Gambhir

The former India opener suggests youngsters should watch the masterclass put up by Root on how to bat and succeed against spinners. The English skipper rarely gave any chance to the Sri Lankans or the Indian bowlers and fielders.

The 30-year-old displayed great decisiveness and skills while playing against the tweakers; he was either committed forward to the ball or rocked back on the backfoot. Root unleashed a large number of sweeps, reverse-sweeps, and slog sweeps over the spinner in the past month – he now averages close to 60 in Asia.

Gautam Gambhir reckons it is not necessary to look only subcontinent batters to play against spin, as Joe Root showed, few overseas ones are also quite adept.

“People can learn a lot how to play spin, especially from Joe Root. It isn’t only about learning to play spin from Indian batters; it’s about learning from whoever does well.”

“Joe Root is a prime example, and a lot of young Indian players can see that it’s not important to be a subcontinent player to dominate in the subcontinent, you need to have high-quality skills, and you can learn so much from Joe Root here,” Gautam Gambhir concluded.

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