Joe Root gives clarification on England's rotation policy after mammoth loss in 2nd Test

England Test skipper Joe Root has defended the team's rotation policy after they were completely outplayed by India by a mammoth 317 runs in the second Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Tuesday. 

Ahead of the second Test, the visitors decided to rest their ace pacer James Anderson who had bowled an impactful spell in the second innings of the first Test match. All-rounder Dom Bess was dropped, whereas, speedster Jofra Archer missed out due to an elbow injury. Wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler was sent back to England as Ben Foakes donned the gloves in the just-concluded Test. 

'It is challenging': Joe Root

“It is difficult; it is challenging, so is everything in these times with Covid and bubble life. The amount of cricket that we have got and trying to factor all of that together it is tough, but that’s where we’re at, and that’s where we find ourselves, and we have to make sure that we get the best out of our players. We have got growing talent and a good number of options", said Root during the post-match presser.

“No. We made that decision looking at a number of things. When you lose, the selection is one of the easy things to blame. Looking at the side we did select, the players that were out there certainly had the talent to produce a very fine performance,” the number three batsman added.

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The chop & changes in England's Test team

Frontline pacer Stuart Broad, who was rested in the series-opener found his way in the Playing XI after Jimmy Anderson was rested in the second Test. Meanwhile, star limited-overs specialist Jonny Bairstow, young all-rounder Sam Curran, and pacer Mark Wood were also rested from the first half of the series after playing two Tests in Sri Lanka.

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At the same time, it has been officially confirmed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that veteran all-rounder Mooen Ali will be returning back to England for a break while Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood join the England squad for the third Test that will be played under lights with the pink-ball from February 24-28. 

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