The England skipper revealed why they rested James Anderson for the second Test in Chennai. Anderson, the England pacer is in-form and can very dangerous for the Indian batting line-up for the rest of the matches. Even though, England decided to give him rest in the second Test.
Joe Root in a virtual conference revealed the reason behind the decision, he told that team is looking forward to using Jimmy at his best in the two last games. Because if he will be unavailable for the last two matches, then it will be difficult for the visitors to give a tough fight to the Indian team.
“With Jimmy, it gives him the best opportunity to be fit and available for those last two games. Everyone’s heart was in favor of him being available for this game but also you have to look at the bigger p[picture and ideally if he is available for two of the last three, that’s a huge asset for us as a team. The way he is bowling obviously, and his reputation as well as his actual numbers and performances in the recent games he played for England,” said Root.
Chris Woakes will be recalled in the place of Andreson to provide the pace attack to the England team. Jofra Archer also ruled out of the second Test after which Olly Stone gets an opportunity to play for the visitors and showcase his skills in the second match.
“With Stoney, that means we could play with a similar balance. The route of Woakes, which will give us great control, lengthens our batting, brings reverse swing massively into the game as well. So, we feel like either way, whichever balanced side we go with, we are going to give ourselves a really good chance of taking 20 wickets in these conditions,” Root further added.
Joe Root explains why an in-form James Anderson has been rested for the second Test, and what Olly Stone or Chris Woakes will bring to England's pace attack #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/2SrtOey8Vm
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 12, 2021
