Nasser Hussain – “At times, Joe picks the wrong moment to go into battle.”

Former England Captain Nasser Hussain wants the current Captain and in form batsman Joe Root to pick the right battles and know the time to be “ruthless”. Root is extremely popular and fan-favorite of the English crowd but heads into the third test with a great deal of pressure on his shoulders.

Root was criticized for his poor strategy in the Lords test. Root had set up a rather defensive field against the duo of Shami and Bumrah. The plan didn’t work out and the two had set up a long partnership for the 9th wicket that eventually put India in the driver’s seat.

Nasser Hussain says it is time for Joe Root to show some aggression, perhaps like the opposition captain Virat Kohli does. In his column for The Daily Mail, Hussain said,”Joe is extremely popular within the dressing room and with England supporters — you only have to listen to all the chants of ‘Rooooooot’ to know that — but I’m afraid the England captaincy is not a popularity contest.The only thing I would say, not just about Root but also this England regime, is that it seems they do not quite know when to be ruthless and when is the right time for Joe to be an angry captain. The time to offer the stick rather than the carrot.”

Root was handed the captaincy of the longest format of the game in 2017 and Root has delivered well on his part with 25 test wins to his name, just one below the most by any captain for England. He has a chance to equal that record in the next test against India in Headingley.

Hussain believes that majority of the people in England’s dressing room are “nice” people.Most of the Indian fans will disagree since the English players like Anderson were involved in ugly sledging against Indian players.

Hussain also feels that Joe Root often takes the wrong battles.He wants captain Root to discuss issues occurring off the field with ECB.Hussain concluded by saying,”At times, Joe picks the wrong moment to go into battle. He got it wrong on that final morning at Lord’s when he picked a fight with Jasprit Bumrah. He would be better off picking a battle with his top three over their lack of runs, or the ECB over scheduling.And maybe he should be picking a battle with Ashley Giles and Silverwood about why he has had one arm tied behind his back and hasn’t had his best Test side at any stage in the last year. I’d like to see an angry Joe then.”