England have added Joe Root to their squad for the upcoming first ODI against Ireland, scheduled to be played at Headingley on Wednesday (September 20). England took the decision after Joe Root himself requested to be added to the team in order to find his form ahead of the all-important ICC World Cup 2023.
England had initially named a 13-man squad for the three-match ODI series against Ireland. The squad did not feature any players who were named in the 15-member World Cup squad. Harry Brook was a part of the squad but has now been rested for the series after replacing Jason Roy in the World Cup squad.
Joe Root to play against Ireland:
However, Joe Root has decided to play against Ireland as he looks to get his form back in the 50-over format. The right-handed batsman failed to do well with the bat during the recently concluded four-match ODI series against New Zealand. In four matches, the former England Test captain was dismissed for a single-digit score three times as he registered scores of 6, 0, 4 and 29.
He has also not played too many games in ODIs in recent years. Since helping England win the World Cup in 2019, he has played only 16 ODIs. Overall, Joe Root has a fine record in the ODI format. One of the best Test batsmen in the world, he has scored 6246 runs in 162 ODIs so far at an average of 49. The England star has struck 16 centuries and 36 half-centuries in ODIs so far.
“Like for a lot of people, he is getting that rhythm of 50-over cricket,” England’s national selector Luke Wright said. “Obviously we don’t play [much of] it in this country, but a lot of those lads haven’t played a lot of 50-over cricket, especially someone like Joe.
“He just wanted a bit more time. It’s a great thing for someone to still have that desire to keep wanting to do more and more. It shows where he’s at with his game and what makes him such a world-class player that, when he doesn’t feel quite right, he still wants to tinker and do more. As much as we probably thought he needed a break as well, he just wanted another go,” he added.
England will begin their defence of the World Cup title on October 5 when they take on New Zealand in the tournament opener in Ahmedabad. Before that, they will also play two warm-up games in Guwahati.
England squad for ICC World Cup 2023:
Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.