Melbourne [Australia], February 14 (ANI): Former Australia skipper Ian Chappell has said that England Test captain Joe Root needs to be admired for the ability to recognise his past inadequacies and learn from them.
Root had played a knock of 218 runs in the first Test against India and as a result, the visitors gained a memorable 228-run win at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. This performance also helped Root to reach the number three spot in ICC Test batsmen rankings.
“This is an aspect of Root’s leadership where he has greatly improved. His confidence as captain has grown in proportion to his own outstanding performance with the bat. Root is to be admired for the ability to recognise his past inadequacies and learn from them,” Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo.
“The strategy side of captaincy is often learned from decisions that go awry and then need to be rectified. It’s how quickly doubtful decisions are reversed that often define a good captain,” he added.
However, Chappell also highlighted the areas where Root can look to improve and how he can be ruthless in crucial match situations.
“One aspect of captaincy where Root can improve even further is in the art of perception and psychology – two crucial aspects of Test match captaincy. Despite having a brilliant all-round game in the first Test, Root failed to take full advantage of England’s superiority at a critical time in the game. Instead of oscillating between all-out attack and inexplicable defence in the late stages of their second innings, England should have pushed on aggressively in order to declare and set a target,” said Chappell.
“This would have sent a strong message to India: we are not worried by your much-vaunted batting line-up. If Root had declared instead of being bowled out, it could have provided him with a valuable psychological advantage later in the series. In sending a message of confidence it could easily have had an effect on a decision Virat Kohli has to make later in the series,” he added.
England and India are currently locking horns in the ongoing second Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. The match is being played with 50 per cent crowd in attendance. (ANI)
