Despite his scintillating performance with the bat, former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar believes that Joe Root is a notch below the likes of Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson.
He showcased a terrific batting show against the Indian attack in the opening Test and played a match-winning 218-run knock. Before that, he had smashed 228 and 186 in Sri Lanka and helped his team win the series 2-0.
Sunil Gavaskar Slams Joe Root
During a discussion on Star Sports Network, Gavaskar was asked if he currently considers the English captain as the best batsman in the world. In response, the batting great stated that Root is among the top four but not the best one.
“He is very very good. But I don’t think he is the best batsman in the world. There are four contenders for that and he is amongst the four contenders. But I think he is just a notch below the other three,” said Gavaskar on Star Sports Network.
Gavaskar went on to speak about Root’s game-changing double ton in Chennai that laid the foundation of England’s win. The cricketer turned commentator said that the English skipper was extremely confident to ‘smother the turn’.
“What was most impressive about Joe Root’s double ton was the fact that he was so confident from the word go and the positivity with which he moved either forward or he went back. He made sure when he was forward, he was smothering the turn and when he was back, he was making sure that he had the room to play the cut shot or the pull shot,” observed Gavaskar.
Gavaskar lauded Root for the perfect execution of his sweep shot and said, “And then, of course, the use of the sweep shot against the spinners. That was very calculated, it wasn’t just a random sweep shot. It was a very thoughtful sweep shot and that is the reason he has been so successful in the subcontinent in the last three Test matches.”
