Arguably best player in our team: England captain Jos Buttler lauds under-fire Joe Root ahead of CWC '23

Joe Root is gearing up for England's three-match ODI series opener versus Ireland, on September 20 (Wednesday) at Headingley, Leeds. The former England Test captain voluntarily added him to the squad for the first ODIas he needs more game time in theformat ahead of the CWC 2023 edition, which kicks off with defending champions England taking on New Zealand in Ahmedabad on October 05. Root's decision comes on the back of a horrible run in the four ODIs against New Zealand,at home, where he ended with scores of 6, 0, 4, and 29.

Ahead of the Ireland series, where Zak Crawley will lead a second-stringed side, England's regular captain Jos Buttler lauded Root's 'hunger to play' and backs him to regain form before CWC 2023.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Buttler said, "It just shows his hunger to play. He's someone who, over the last four years because of the schedule probably hasn't played as much 50-over cricket as he would like. He's an experienced guy and he knows what he needs. He's arguably the best player in our team and he just knows what he needs to get ready. It was very simple for all involved."

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Meanwhile, England's chief selector Luke Wright also lauded Root for requesting for more game time andadded, "It's great for someone to have that desire to keep wanting to do more. 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."

Root has batted only 16 times in ODIs since the 2019 World Cup, won by England in a thrilling final, at Lord's, versus the Black Caps. Hence, he is desperate to regain his rhythm before the upcoming ICC event in October-November.

England's final squad for the 2023 World Cup:Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.