IPL 2023: Joe Root joins RR for his maiden IPL stint, receives grand welcome - WATCH

IPL 2023: With just less than a week left in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League all ten teams have started to prepare for the upcoming season. Players from all over the world have started to join their teams ahead of the upcoming season and also are taking part in practice sessions. England batsman Joe Root who was bought by the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL auction 2023 at a base price of INR 1 crore has joined his team ahead of the season. Root will be making his first appearance in the Indian Premier League as before he was never able to attract buyers in the auction. 

Joe Root joins Rajasthan Royals: Watch

However, Joe Root is not a part of England's T20I side and played the shortest format of the game for his national side in 2016. Till now Root has played 32 T20I matches for England and has scored a total of 893 runs at an average of 35.72. The right-handed batsman has five half-centuries to his name. Joe Root was also England's highest run scorer at the 2016 T20 World Cup and scored 249 runs at an average of 49.80 and a strike rate of 146.67.

Joe Root recently played in the International League T20 which was going on in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year. Root during the tournament said that he wishes to play more T20 cricket and also add prowess to his 50-over career. Joe Root had a pretty consistent run at the International League T20 playing for Dubai Capitals he made a total of 214 runs in the five matches he played. He scored an average of 53.50. 

Rajasthan Royals will begin their Indian Premier League 2023 campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 2, 2023, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. The Indian Premier League will kick start on March 31, 2023, with the first match all set to be played between four-time champions Chennai Super Kings and the reigning champions Gujarat Titans. The match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.